MIT Mathematics Homepage

Math major Tianyuan (Margaret) Zheng ’23, who is also majoring in Computer Science, Economics, and Data Science (6-14) and minoring in Music (21M), was chosen for the 2023 Jerome B. Wiesner Student Art Award by the Arts at MIT Student Art Awards Committee.

Zheng’s artistic involvement on campus is multi-faceted; she is best known for bringing to life Wide Tim, the illustrated incarnation of MIT’s mascot Tim the Beaver. “My vision for Wide Tim is that he’s a very happy, very positive character,” says Zheng.

Her goal is to “spread joy and raise awareness of art and culture aspects of MIT student life,” she says. As of May 2023, she has created more than 130 artworks and collaborated with more than 35 MIT departments and organizations.

Established by the Council for the Arts at MIT in 1979, these awards honor past MIT President Jerome B. Wiesner and Laya Wiesner for their commitment to the arts at MIT.

Read more about Margaret’s award and about her efforts in MIT Technology Review and MIT News.

Congratulations, Margaret!

The 2023 Jon A. Bucsela Prize in Mathematics has been awarded to senior math majors, from left, Carl Schildkraut, Anqi Li, and Daniel Zhu, for distinguished scholastic achievement, professional promise, and enthusiasm for mathematics.

Congratulations to all!

Three students recently received the Peter Baddoo Community Building Award, for individuals who have made significant contributions to building and strengthening our MIT Math community.

Senior Chirag Falor was awarded for his work as the Undergraduate Mathematics Association Social Chair. “From organizing study groups and workshops to coordinating social activities, Chirag has consistently put in tremendous effort to ensure that students feel supported and connected,” says one nominator.

Graduate students Nitya Mani and Serina Hu received this award for their work in organizing the department retreat, which usually is the work of at least five people.

This award is named in honor of Peter Baddoo, a Department instructor who was 29 when he died on February 15. Baddoo received the Community Building Award in 2022 for helping to organize tea and coffee hours for the postdoc community.

Congratulations, Chirag, Serina, and Nitya!

Professor Philippe Rigollet has been awarded the Frank E. Perkins Award for Excellence in Graduate Advising.

Named in honor of Frank E. Perkins, Dean of the Graduate School from 1983-1985, this award is presented to a faculty member who demonstrates unbounded compassion and dedication toward students.

Congratulations, Philippe!

The 2023 Charles W. and Jennifer C. Johnson Prize, for a research paper accepted for publication in a major journal, has been awarded to graduate student Andrew Salmon for his paper “Unipotent nearby cycles and cohomology of shtukas” in Compositio Mathematica, Volume 159, Issue 3, March 2023, pages 590–615.

Congratulations, Andrew!

The 2023 Charles and Holly Housman Award for Excellence in Teaching was awarded to graduate students Yan Sheng Ang (18.03 recitation instructor as well as the Communication-Intensive Project Lab, 18.821 TA), Yuqiu Fu (recitation leader for our Communication-Intensive Real Analysis class 18.100P), and Tang-Kai Lee (18.02 TA).

This award is presented to graduate students in mathematics for their skill and dedication in undergraduate teaching.

Congratulations, Tang-Kai, Yan Sheng, and Yuqiu!

Graduate student Alasdair Hastewell ’18 is the recipient of the inaugural David J. Benney Prize.

This award recognizes excellence in applied mathematics, with preference given to students in physical applied math, computational science, numerical analysis, computational biology, or theoretical physics. Alasdair is a PhD candidate in Jörn Dunkel’s group.

This award honors David Benney, an applied math professor who died in 2015. Benney chaired the Applied Mathematics Committee from 1983-1985, and served as Department Head for two terms, 1989-1999.

Congratulations, Alasdair!

The Department of Mathematics recognized four math community members with Teaching and Learning awards for their contributions to teaching, mentoring, and student support in our math subjects.

Math majors Gabrielle Kaili-May Liu and Esha Bhatia were recognized for their work as a PRIMES Circle mentor and 18.03 teaching assistant, respectively.

Giada Franz taught her first MIT class, 18.100B, and Andrew Horning was the primary instructor for 18.335 while also co-teaching 18.06 with nearly 500 students.

Congratulations, Andrew, Esha, Gabrielle, and Giada!

Third-years Rupert Li & Audrey Xie each received a Barry Goldwater Scholarship for 2022-2023. Rupert is mentored by professors Henry Cohn, Joseph Gallian of University of Minnesota Duluth, and James Propp of UMass-Lowell. Audrey is working on research related to the latent spaces of generative models and last year developed methods for gradient-based hyperparameter adaptation as part of Professor Jonathan Ragan-Kelly's group at CSAIL. They were among 413 college students selected on the basis of academic merit, from a nationwide field of candidates.

Congratulations, Audrey and Rupert!

The Xi Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa has elected 33 mathematics majors, among 102 electees from MIT's Class of 2023, to become members.

Phi Beta Kappa is the nation's oldest academic honor society with a very selective invitation process. Membership is awarded to students in recognition of excellent academic records and commitment to the objectives of a liberal education.

Full list of Mathematics Inductees

Congratulations to our newest members of Phi Beta Kappa!