In Autumn 2025, the Department of Mathematical welcomed several new full-time faculty:

• Dr. Diego Castedo Pena is joining the department as a Teaching Assistant Professor after completing his PhD at North Carolina State University in Spring 2025.
• Dr. Brian Luczak is joining the department as a Teaching Assistant Professor after teaching for a year at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. Dr. Luczak completed his PhD at Vanderbilt University in 2024.
• James Scheidhauer is joining the department as a Quantitative Reasoning Specialist. James has been teaching full-time at DePaul since 2010, and is now officially a full-time faculty member in the Department of Mathematical Sciences.
• Dr. Marie Swartz is joining the department as a Teaching Assistant Professor after completing her PhD at Northern Illinois University in Spring 2025.

In September 2025, Assistant Professor Dr. Wei Li was awarded a 3-year $164k grant through the NSF-LEAPS (Launching Early-Career Academic Pathways in Mathematics) program. Dr. Li's project is titled Photonic Topological Edge States on Sharply Joined or Truncated Materials.

Congratulations Dr. Li!

Effective July 1, 2025, the Department of Mathematical Sciences' Dr. Emily Barnard has been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor with tenure.

Dr. Barnard earned her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University, and then earned her PhD in Mathematics from North Carolina State University in 2017. Before joining the faculty at DePaul, Dr. Barnard was a Zelevinsky Research Instructor at Northeastern University in Boston, where she earned an award for outstanding teacher of first year engineering students.

Congratulations, Dr. Barnard!

Effective July 1, 2025, Department of Mathematical Sciences faculty member Dr. Karl Liechty has been promoted to the rank of Professor. Congratulations, Dr. Liechty!

Dr. Liechty earned his PhD in mathematics in 2010 from Purdue University. After a semester as a postdoctoral scholar at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute he then spent three years at the University of Michigan, before joining the faculty at DePaul University in 2014. Dr. Liechty was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor with tenure in 2018.

Effective July 1, 2025, Department of Mathematical Sciences faculty member Dr. David Sher has been promoted to the rank of Professor. Congratulations, Dr. Sher!

​Dr. Sher earned his PhD from Stanford University in 2012. Before joining the faculty at DePaul University in 2016, Dr. Sher held a CRM-ISM Fellowship at McGill University and the Centre de Recherches Mathematiques​​ in Montreal from 2012-2013, and then an RTG Postdoctoral Assistant Professorship at the University of Michigan from 2013-2016. Dr. Sher was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor with tenure in 2020.

Pi Mu Epsilon (PME) is a national honor society dedicated to the promotion of mathematics and the recognition of students who successfully pursue mathematical understanding. The Illinois Gamma Chapter at DePaul University was founded in 1956. After a period of inactivity, the chapter was reactivated in Spring 2025.

The following students and faculty were inducted into the Illinois Gamma Chapter in Spring 2025:

• Oswaldo Barraza
• Marina Bello
• Art Chen-Wei
• Erik Dahlen
• Christopher Drupieski (faculty)
• Felicia Dumax-Baudron
• Maeve Dwyer
• Isabelle Eckert
• Isabella Foti
• Graham Gatewood
• Blair Johnson
• John Kazarian
• Ronak Khan
• Owen Levens Pereira
• Jacob Mascort
• Natalia Neides
• Nicholas Oses Frola
• Anjali Pasupathy
• Kyle Petersen (faculty)
• Krish Raval
• Veronica Serrano
• Paige Sheroke
• Paulina Slowakiewicz
• Iman S. Sulaiman
• Adriana Terracciano
• Ilie Ugarcovici (faculty)
• Abigail Walton

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 2025 recipient of the Walter A. Pranger Award is Daniel Gawel. Congratulations Daniel!

Daniel's award was conferred at the College of Science and Health Spring Honors Convocation.

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 2025 recipient of the Oustanding Student Award is Erika Gerol. Congratulations Erika!

Erika's award was conferred at the College of Science and Health Spring Honors Convocation.

Department of Mathematical Sciences faculty member Dr. Ilie Ugarcovici was one of three faculty in the College of Science and Health to be selected for the 2025 Quality of Instruction Council Excellence in Teaching Award. Congratulations, Dr. Ugarcovici!

Candidates for the Excellence in Teaching Award may be nominated by a student or by a faculty colleague. The College of Science and Health Teaching and Learning Committee then reviews the nomination materials from faculty in the college before submitting up to three nominees (two tenure-track faculty and one term faculty member) to the DePaul University Quality of Instruction Council.

Dr. Ugarcovici will be officially recognized for his award at Academic Convocation in September 2025.

Department of Mathematical Sciences faculty member Professor Ahmed Zayed has been inducted into the Scientific Research Honor Society Sigma Xi. Dr. Zayed was chosen for a research career that embodies excellence and the spirit of scientific collaboration, two of the main objectives of Sigma Xi's mission. Membership is by nomination only and peer based.

More information about Dr. Zayed's induction is posted on the College of Science and Health News & Events page.

The Department of Mathematical Sciences is sad to announce the passing of Associate Professor Hung-Chih Ku. Dr. Ku passed away on April 26, 2025.

Dr. Ku earned his PhD in Statistics from Oklahoma State University in 2012. He then held a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center until joining the faculty at DePaul University in 2015. Dr. Ku was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor with tenure in 2024.

An obituary is posted on the Smith-Corcoran funeral home web page.

The Department of Mathematical Sciences' Dr. Bridget Tenner has been elected to the 2025 class of Fellows of the American Mathematical Society. Congratuations, Dr. Tenner!

The goals of the Fellows of the AMS program are:

• To create an enlarged class of mathematicians recognized by their peers as distinguished for their contributions to the profession.
• To honor not only the extraordinary but also the excellent.
• To lift the morale of the profession by providing an honor more accessible than those currently available.
• To make mathematicians more competitive for awards, promotion, and honors when they are being compared with colleagues from other disciplines.
• To support the advancement of more mathematicians in leadership positions in their own institutions and in the broader society.

Our department is excited to welcome a new full-time faculty member in Dr. Williams Chukwu! Dr. Chukwu earned his PhD in Applied Mathematics from the University of Johannesburg in 2021. He then held postdoctoral positions at Universitas Airlangga Surabaya Indonesia in 2021 and the University of California San Diego in 2022, and the position of Visiting Assistant Professor at Wake Forest University from 2022-2024, before joining the faculty at DePaul University as a Professional Lecturer in the Department of Mathematical Sciences.

Effective July 1, 2024, the Department of Mathematical Sciences' Dr. Hung-Chih Ku has been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor with tenure.

​​​​​Dr. Ku earned his PhD in Statistics from Oklahoma State University in 2012. He then held a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center from 2012 to 2015, before joining the faculty at DePaul University in 2015.

Congratulations, Dr. Ku!

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 2024 recipient of the Walter A. Pranger Award is Owen Levens. Congratulations Owen!

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 2024 recipient of the Oustanding Student Award is Richard Keys. Congratulations Richard!

Along with the other members of the College of Science and Health's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, the Department of Mathematical Sciences' Dr. Sarah Bockting-Conrad has been awarded the Provost's Award for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

The overall purpose of this award is to recognize an individual faculty member or group of faculty members who have demonstrated excellence in the pursuit of diversity, equity, and inclusion at DePaul. The award is announced at the University Convocation each autumn.

Congratulations, Dr. Bockting-Conrad!

The Department of Mathematical Sciences' Dr. David Sher has been awarded the University Research Council's Spirit of Inquiry Award.

The Spirit of Inquiry Award honors specific research, scholarly or creative achievements that exhibit commitment to that spirit of creative inquiry, which we endeavor to inspire in our students. The awards are announced at Convocation each autumn and the awardees' names are added to a roster of Spirit of Inquiry award winners in the Executive Offices.

Congratulations, Dr. Sher!

Three DePaul University mathematics students---Reed Action, Blake Shirman, and Daniel Toal---working with their professor T. Kyle Petersen, discovered a new solution to a whimsical math puzzle about a malicious maitre d’ who is sabotaging a table of diners and trying to leave as many diners napkinless as possible. The story and a video are featured in a recent DePaul University press release. The students' work will be published in the American Mathematical Monthly.

Effective July 1, 2023, Department of Mathematical Sciences faculty member Dr. Christopher Drupieski has been promoted to the rank of Professor. Congratulations, Dr. Drupieski!

Dr. Drupieski earned his PhD in Mathematics from the University of Virginia in 2009. He then spent three years as a VIGRE Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Georgia before joining the faculty at DePaul University in 2012. Dr. Drupieski was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor with tenure in 2016. Dr. Drupieski's research interests focus on the representation theory and cohomology of algebraic groups, Lie algebras, Lie superalgebras, finite (super)group schemes, and related mathematical structures.

Department of Mathematical Sciences faculty member Dr. Emily Barnard has been selected as the 2023 Faculty Mentor of the Year. Congratulations, Dr. Barnard!

The CSH Mentor of the Year award is made by CSH seniors, based on student nominations of faculty who have made a positive impact on students through their mentorship. Dr. Barnard will receive her award at the CSH Honors Celebration.

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 2023 recipient of the Walter A. Pranger Award is Rachel Taylor. Congratulations Rachel!

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 2023 recipient of the Oustanding Student Award is Kathryn Griggs. Congratulations Kathryn!

In Summe​r 2023, four local undergraduates will spend 8 weeks engaging in full-time mathematical research, thanks to funding from the Mathematical Association America's (MAA) National Research Experience for Undergraduates Program (NREUP). The 2023 NREUP at DePaul University is being run by Department of Mathematical Sciences faulty Dr. Emily Barnard and Dr. Sarah Bockting-Conrad​.

The 2023 NREUP at DePaul University will focus on the relatively new field of graph b-colorings. A b-coloring is a special kind of proper vertex coloring in which every color class must have at least one vertex which is adjacent to all other color classes. The largest number of colors that can be used in a b-coloring is called the b-chromatic number of the graph. Our students will build on existing results about b-colorings and b-chromatic numbers to study b-colorings of various graph families. Students will leave the program with a toolbox for exploring research questions in graph theory.

For more information, see the 2023 NREUP page.

DePaul University Mathematical Sciences major Leslye Rodriguez was one of 10 undergraduate students in 2022 to be awarded an Undergraduate Opportunity Award from the American Mathematical Society. Congratulations, Leslye!

The AMS Undergraduate Opportunity Awards are financial prizes designed to help undergraduate students pursue careers in mathematics. The awards go to students at colleges and universities randomly selected each year from the American Mathematical Society’s institutional members, and the number of recipients and scholarship amount vary. Read more about the award winners on the AMS website.

Applied Mathematics graduate students Michael Bonthron and Jason Echevarria were recently featured in a DePaul Newsline article. Read about their work by clicking here.