News & Events

Effective July 1, 2020, the Department of Mathematical Sciences welcomes its newest Assistant Professor, Dr. Wei Li.

Dr. Li earned her PhD in Applied and Interdisciplinary Mathematics in 2016 from the University of Michigan. Prior to joining the faculty at DePaul in 2020, Dr. Li held postdoctoral appointments at Louisiana State University from 2018-2020, at the Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics (ICERM) at Brown University in 2017, and at the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) at the University of Minnesota from 2016-2017. Dr. Li earned her BS in Pure and Applied Mathematics from Tsinghua University in 2011.

Dr. Li's research interests are in applied analysis, focusing on scattering resonances and inverse problems.

Welcome, Dr. Li!

Effective July 1, 2020, the Department of Mathematical Sciences welcomes new faculty member Michelle Yuanying Guan as an Associate Professor and as the new director of the Actuarial Science program. Dr. Guan holds a joint appointment with the Department of Mathematical Sciences in the College of Science and Health and the Department of Finance in the Driehaus College of Business. As a member of those two departments, she serves as the Director of the Actuarial Science programs in each college.

Dr. Guan is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA). She earned her PhD in Financial Mathematics from Florida State University in 2011. Prior to joining the faculty at DePaul University in 2020, Dr. Guan served as an Associate Professor and the Actuarial Science Advisor in the Department of Mathematics and Actuarial Science at Indiana University Northwest. Her research interests are in financial mathematics and actuarial science, focusing on heterogeneous agent models in asset pricing and systemic risk in financial systems.

Welcome, Dr. Guan!

Effective July 1, 2020, Department of Mathematical Sciences faculty member Dr. David Sher has been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor with Tenure. Congratulations Dr. Sher!

Dr. Sher's research interests are in spectral geometry, at the intersection of partial differential equations and geometric analysis. Before joining the faculty at DePaul University in 2016, Dr. Sher held positions at the University of Michigan from 2013-2016 and at McGill University and the Centre de Recherches Mathematiques in Montreal from 2012-2013. Dr. Sher earned his PhD in Mathematics from Stanford University in 2012.

Effective July 1, 2020, Department of Mathematical Sciences faculty member Dr. Philip Yates has been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor with Tenure. Congratulations Dr. Yates!

Dr. Yates's research interests mostly involve statistical applications, specifically applications in environmental sciences, hydrology, sports, and statistics education. Dr. Yates joined the faculty at DePaul University in 2017. He previously held positions at Saint Michael’s College from 2010 to 2017, and California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) from 2007 to 2010. Dr. Yates earned his PhD in Statistics from the University of South Carolina in 2006. He earned his MS in Biostatistics from the University of Vermont in 1999 and his BS in Mathematical Sciences from DePaul University in 1997.

Each year the Department of Mathematical Sciences awards the Walter A. Pranger Award to an outstanding full-time undergraduate student who has achieved a superior academic record in upper level math courses and who has shown an interest in advancing the study of the mathematical sciences. The 2020 recipient of the Walter A. Pranger Award was Devin Becker. Congratulations Devin!

Each year, the Department of Mathematical Sciences awards the Outstanding Student Award to a graduating senior who has demonstrated excellence (broadly defined) in their mathematics career at DePaul University. The 2020 recipient of the Oustanding Student Award is Sofia Lasky-Headrick. Congratulations Sofia!

Dr. Bridget Tenner, Professor of Mathematical Sciences, is the 2020 recipient of the College of Science and Health's Excellence in Research Award. Congratulations Dr. Tenner!

Dr. Tenner joined DePaul in 2007 and was promoted to Professor in 2017. Her research as a combinatorialist focuses on the mathematics of discrete structures and specifically highlights her interests in algebraic, enumerative, and topological questions. Early in her career she developed an electronic database for pattern avoiding permutations, which was among the first such resources in the field. She has authored over 40 publications covering topics on the combinatorics of partially ordered sets, permutations, boolean complexes, sorting algorithms, and Coxeter groups, illustrating the depth and breadth of her research record. The recognition of the excellence in her quality of work has provided funding from various internal grants and most notably, an external Collaboration Grant for Mathematicians from the Simons Foundation. Dr. Tenner’s research has been published in premier journals and has been cited 436 times according to Google Scholar. As an internationally recognized expert in combinatorics, her innovative work will have an enduring impact on her colleagues, students and the field of mathematical sciences.

After 40 years of service to DePaul University, Professor Carolyn "Lynn" Narasimhan is retiring.

Professor Narasimhan earned her PhD in Mathematics in 1977, before joining the faculty at DePaul University in 1979. She was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in 1983 and then to the rank of Professor in 2006. In her time at DePaul, Professor Narasimhan held numerous leadership positions, including Chair of the Department of Mathematical Sciences (1987-1989), Associate Dean of the College of LIberal Arts and Sciences (1989-2011), Director of the Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Center (2000-2011), and most recently Chair of the STEM Studies Department and Director of the STEM Center (2011-present). Through her work with the Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Center and later the STEM Center, Professor Narasimhan was awarded grants from such organizations as the NSF, Space Science for Illinois Teachers, Algebra Common Core Leadership Program, Department of Education/Illinois State Board of Education, Chicago STEM Education Consortium, Building a STEM Pipeline in Chicago, National Science Foundation, Funding Undergraduate Women Scientists, and the Luce Foundation. Professor Narasimhan was recognized with the DePaul Excellence in Teaching award in 1992, with the Spirit of DePaul award in 2010, and the Service and Leadership Award from the Illinois Louis B. Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation in 2013.