PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

24-Jul-2014

Contact: Cindy Fox Aisen caisen@iupui.edu 317-843-2276 Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis School of Science

INDIANAPOLIS -- Roland Roeder, Ph.D., a mathematician from the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), will receive $460,000 over the next five years from the National Science Foundation's Division of Mathematical Sciences to support his research in pure math and the training of students from the graduate to high school levels.

The Faculty Early Career Development award is the NSF's most prestigious award in support of junior faculty. It is given to individuals who "exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research."

The award will support Roeder's research on dynamics in several complex variables, an area of pure mathematics focusing on the theoretical underpinnings of systems that change with time.

"Systems that change with time appear at the core of nearly all scientific endeavors, including biology, chemistry, physics and the social sciences," he noted. "Given the current state of a system, can one predict its future state? How does this evolution of the state of the system depend on the parameters of the system?

"Many such dynamical systems are far too complicated for a rigorous study, so one often resorts to simpler models, which are hoped to indicate the types of behavior that one should expect experimentally. One venue for such simpler models is the iteration of holomorphic maps, the topic of my NSF-supported research."

According to Roeder, insights obtained from complex dynamics have already provided a deeper understanding of real-world problems in a variety of fields including the study of magnetic materials and astrophysics.

In addition to supporting Roeder's research, his CAREER grant will provide research training including tuition and living expenses for one or two doctoral students he will supervise over the next five years. The funding will also enable Roeder and the Department of Mathematical Sciences to hold two workshops for graduate mathematics students from universities throughout the United States. Each workshop will provide opportunities for students to make presentations and will bring top researchers to IUPUI to speak and interact with the students.

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IUPUI mathematician receives prestigious NSF Early Career Development Award