Our Department
The core faculty of the Mathematics Department comprises around 50 tenured and tenure-track members who carry out research, supervise Ph.D. students, and teach graduate and undergraduate courses. There are also a handful of postdoctoral researchers, including our Bing Instructors, and several emeritus faculty.
As the flagship public university in Texas, a core part of our mission is teaching undergraduates from all over this huge and varied state. While graduate students and tenure-stream faculty contribute a great deal to this mission, we also have a substantial body of instructional faculty members. These highly-valued members of our department bringing excellence, commitment and innovation to their teaching. They include faculty members with expertise in actuarial mathematics, among them Mark Maxwell, who directs the Actuarial Mathematics MA program.
The department has internationally recognized research groups in a number of overlapping areas:
- Analysis
- Applied and Computational Mathematics
- Probability and Financial Mathematics
- Topology
- Geometry
- Algebra and number theory
- Groups and Dynamics
Our Ph.D. students carry out research in all of these areas. In 2019, the groups in Topology, Analysis and Applied Math were ranked among the top 10 nationally by US News & World Reports.
The large Analysis group is a powerhouse for research in partial differential equations (PDE), as well as geometric analysis, the calculus of variations, and certain aspects of mathematical physics. Among several outstanding researcher, endowed chair-holder Luis Caffarelli is renowned as one of the world’s leading mathematical analysts, while Philip Isett recently won a prestigious Clay Research Award. The PDE of fluid dynamics and statistical physics are particular foci. The group was awarded a 5-year Research Training Grant (RTG) by the NSF in 2018; activities supported financially by the RTG include research by US graduate students working in the area.
Faculty working in Applied and Computational Mathematics often have dual appointments at the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences , an interdisciplinary institute for mathematical modeling and scientific computation. These include endowed chair-holder Bjorn Engquist. Research topics include numerical analysis, applied aspects of PDE, signal processing, and machine learning. In 2020, UT Austin was selected by the NSF as the home of a national Artificial Intelligence institute, focused on machine learning; mathematics faculty such as Rachel Ward are strongly involved in this project.
We also have faculty working on the mathematics of networks—notably, Simons Mathematics and Electrical and Computer Engineering Chair François Baccelli—and on the mathematics of neuroscience. Closely connected, research in Probability at UT covers financial mathematics (with connections to the McCombs School of Business), network theory, combinatorics and theoretical probability.
Our Geometry group works on a broad swathe of mathematics including algebraic and differential geometry, mirror symmetry, algebraic topology, geometric representation theory, categorical and “derived” methods, and the mathematics of quantum field theory. There is special strength in a nexus of ideas around algebraic geometry and mirror symmetry, notably represented in the work of endowed chair-holder and Clay Research Award recipient Bernd Siebert. Research in Algebra overlaps with that in geometry, and also includes number theory, arithmetic geometry, and representation theory.
The Topology group has traditionally focused on low-dimensional topology, as in the work of endowed chair Cameron Gordon on 3-manifolds and knots. A burgeoning Groups and Dynamics group has recently added to the department’s research portfolio. The Topology and Groups and Dynamics groups were in 2019 jointly awarded a 5-year Research Training Grant by the NSF, on Groups and Dynamics, covering a nexus of ideas including the dynamics of group actions, fundamental groups in 3-manifold topology, and geometric structures on manifolds.
The Department of Mathematics offers the following degree programs:
- Ph. D. in Mathematics
- M. A. in Mathematics (Actuarial Focus)
Key People & committees
Graduate Advisor
The Graduate Advisor is a faculty member of the Mathematics Department who oversees the graduate program, especially its academic aspects. The Graduate Advisor is typically appointed Associate Chair of Graduate Education by the CNS. Responsibilities include student welfare, monitoring of students’ academic and professional performance, advocating for students and for an equitable climate in the program, and leading the recruitment process for new graduate students. The Graduate Advisor coordinates with the CNS and Graduate School on matters related to the graduate program, and works closely with the Graduate Program Administrator on the running of the program.
Students may consult the Graduate Advisor on academic aspects of the program and issues of welfare and well-being, and in situations where a dispute with a faculty member (such as an academic advisor or the instructor for a course in which the student is the TA) arises.
Assistant Graduate Advisor
The Assistant Graduate Advisor provides additional support in the areas of student welfare and recruitment.
Graduate Program Administrator
The Graduate Program Administrator, sometimes called the Graduate Coordinator, is responsible for the administration of the graduate program. Important aspects include matters related to appointments and employment, benefits, and course registration. This role is carried out in close consultation with the Graduate Advisor, and also involves coordination with the CNS and Graduate School.
Students should consult the Graduate Program Administrator on queries and concerns of an administrative, rather than academic, nature.
Actuarial Program Director
Mark MaxwellThe Actuarial Program Director is responsible for academic aspects of, and recruitment to, the MA program with focus in Actuarial Studies.
The Graduate Studies Committee
The Graduate Studies Committee (GSC) comprises the tenured and tenure-track faculty of the Mathematics department, as well as certain faculty members from other departments of the university (typically working in fields closely allied to Mathematics). Only members of the GSC are permitted to supervise Ph.D. students. The GSC is responsible for major strategic decisions concerning the graduate program. The GSC delegates some of its responsibilities to the Administrative Subcommittee of the Graduate Studies Committee (or ASGSC). The ASGSC is currently chaired by Gordan Žitkoviç (gordanz@math.utexas.edu). The responsibilities of the ASGSC include the administration of Prelim exams. The ASGSC also adjudicates when a student requests an exception to program rules, and in the rare event of a dispute between a graduate student and the Graduate Advisor.
