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Recent Promotions in SoM

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We are pleased to announce two recent promotions in the School of Mathematics.

 

Greg Blekherman, Promoted to Full Professor

Dr. Grigoriy Blekherman works in the interdisciplinary area of applied algebraic geometry and seeks to combine techniques from real and complex algebraic geometry and convex geometry to address fundamental questions in several areas of mathematics, with relevance to engineering, physics and theoretical computer science. 

Prof. Blekherman's research has been recognized by both a Sloan Research Fellowship as well as a NSF CAREER Award.

In addition to superior research, Prof. Blekherman's excellence in teaching has been recognized by the CETL-BP Junior Faculty Teaching award, and  by selection as Provost Teaching and Learning Fellow. Prof. Blekherman sits as an associate editor of SIAM Journal on Applied Algebra and Geometry, and among other prestigious speaker invitations has been an invited lecturer at several international graduate schools.

Before joining Georgia Tech in 2011, Dr. Blekherman held postdoctoral positions at Microsoft Research, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, Institute for Pure and Applied Math at UCLA, and UC San Diego. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 2005.

Prof. Blekherman's research Interests include Applied Algebraic Geometry, Convex Geometry and Optimization, and Mathematical Biology. (See his web page for more info)

My work focuses on the interplay between convex and algebraic geometry (both real and complex), especially in the area of sums of squares approximations to nonnegative polynomials, and tensor ranks and their generalizations.

 

Molei Tao, Promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure

Dr.  Molei Tao joined Georgia Tech as an assistant professor in 2014. The main theme of Prof. Tao's research is to analyze, simulate and control systems characterized by multiple scales, geometric structure, and randomness. 

As an applied & computational mathematician who develops theoretical tools to solve practical problems, Dr. Tao has published in leading journals in both math and applied disciplines, as well as high profile conference papers. He has received funding from multiple sources, including an NSF CAREER Award in 2019. Prof. Tao has been actively mentoring Ph.D. students and postdocs, as well as student researchers at other levels. 

Prior to joining Georgia Tech, Dr. Tao was a Courant Instructor at NYU and a postdoctoral researcher at Caltech. He received his Ph.D. in Control & Dynamical Systems with a minor in Physics in 2011 from Caltech. 

Prof. Tao designs algorithms for faster and more accurate computations and develops mathematical tools to answer scientific questions to analyze/design engineering systems. Examples include: (see his web page for more info)

  • Extrasolar and Solar planetary dynamics
  • Rare events modeling and quantification
  • The resonant control of mechanical systems, including the engineering problems of energy transfer and harvest
  • The interplay between dynamics and machine learning

My main objective is to analyze, simulate, and control systems characterized by multiple scales, geometric structures (e.g., symplecticity), and randomness.

Enid Steinbart, Promoted to Principal Academic Professional

The rank of Principal AP is the highest in the GT academic professional career ladder, awarded to those demonstrating superior performance and recognized by peers, with successful and measurable related experience, including but not limited to supervision of others’ work, significant responsibility and authority within program area, and demonstrated impact.  

Dr. Steinbart joined Georgia Tech in 1999, and has been SoM’s Director of Undergraduate  Advising and Assessment  since 2000. Before joining Georgia Tech, she received her Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, after which she progressed to Full Professor at the  University of New Orleans. Twice recognized with GT’s  Outstanding Undergraduate Academic Advising Award, Dr. Steinbart has also received the Outstanding Academic Advisor -Certificate of Merit from the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA), and the Class of 1940 Course Survey Teaching Effectiveness  Award. She has taken leadership roles in many activities that advance undergrad success at GT, including leadership of Club Math, implementation of SoM’s new Math Major, developing the Math Undergraduate Seminar in 2008, and twice chairing GT Advising Network’s  Academic Advisor Best Practices Conference.

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  • Workflow Status:Published
  • Created By:sbarone7
  • Created:03/30/2020
  • Modified By:sbarone7
  • Modified:07/06/2020

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