News & Events
Faculty Grants, Awards and Recognition
New Mathematical Sciences Department Faculty
During the spring of 2011, four new hires were made. In the fall of 2011, the department welcomed one tenure-track Assistant Professor, and three new Visiting Assistant Professors:
Dr. Sarah Dianne Olson, Assistant Professor
Education: Ph.D. Biomathematics, North Carolina State University, 2008
M.S. Mathematics, University of Rhode Island, 2005
B.A. Mathematics, Providence College, 2003
B.A. Biology, Providence College, 2003
Dr. Olson’s research is in the area of computational mathematical biology; in her Ph.D. thesis she used partial differential equations models and neural network learning algorithms to analyze and model experiments of cartilage tissue regeneration. After obtaining her Ph.D. Dr. Olson was a NSF VIGRE Postdoctoral Fellow at Tulane University; while there she focused on developing models of ondulatory swimmers in viscous fluids using an immersed boundary method approach. Her research was published in mathematics and biology journals and was presented at national and international meetings. Dr. Olson has just been awarded a three-year NSF grant from the Mathematical Biology Program in DMS that studies the “Mechanism of invertebrate sperm chemotaxis: from cellular signaling to flagellar swimming”.
Dr. Fernando Lopez Garcia, Visiting Assistant Professor
Education: Ph.D. Mathematics, University of Buenos Aires, 2010
B.S. Mathematics, University of Buenos Aires, 2002
Dr. Lopez Garcia’s research interests are in the area of partial differential equations in domains that are not regular. His thesis entitled “A right inverse of the divergence operator in domains with cusps” addresses a problem of relevance to the Stokes equations for viscous fluids, in domains for which the standard solutions do not exist. He also studied the validity of Korn type inequalities in domains of this type; these results were published in several articles and were presented at various professional meetings. While at the University of Buenos Aires, Dr. Lopez Garcia taught Calculus, Analysis, Linear Algebra and Numerical Analysis courses and was awarded student and doctoral fellowships by the National Academy and the National Research Council in Argentina. During the past academic year he was a research affiliate in the Department of Mathematics at MIT.
Dr. Mihhail Berezovski, Visiting Assistant Professor
Education: Ph.D., Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia, 2010
M.S., Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia, 2006
B.S., Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia, 2002
Dr. Berezovski works on computational modeling in solid mechanics and complex materials. In his thesis entitled “Numerical simulation of wave propagation in heterogeneous and microstructured materials” he used a novel internal variable theory and finite volume methods to model wave propagation in media with prescribed microstructure. His research results were published in eleven papers in journals and conference proceedings. During last academic year, Dr. Berezovski held short term visiting appointments at the University of Pavia, Italy and at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia.
Dr. Xueing Huang, Visiting Assistant Professor
Education: Ph.D. Mathematics, WPI, 2009
M.S. Computational Mathematics, Beijing Normal University, China, 2005B.S. Mathematics, Beijing Normal University, China, 2005
Dr. Huang’s research area is in computational biomathematics and bioengineering, with applications to the study of atherosclerotic plaque progression and rupture. She obtained her Ph.D. from WPI, under the supervision of Prof. Dalin Tang, and upon graduation obtained a faculty position at Xiamen University in China. She has published eight papers in journals like the Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, Annals of Biomedical Engineering and Molecular and Cellular Biomechanics and twelve in conference proceedings. She is returning to WPI to continue her research work, as well as teach in the Mathematical Sciences Department.
Student Awards and Recognition
Ricardo Obasare '12, was awarded a 2011 Actuarial Diversity Scholarship by the Actuarial Foundation.
Maintained by webmaster@wpi.eduLast modified: February 09, 2012 12:34:48