Texas A&M University mathematicians Jean-Luc Guermond and Volodymyr Nekrashevych have earned selection to the 2021 class of American Mathematical Society (AMS) Fellows in recognition of their international excellence in mathematical science and service.
Guermond and Nekrashevych are among 46 mathematical scientists worldwide honored with selection to this year’s class — announced November 1 by the society — in the program’s ninth year. Both were recruited to Texas A&M as part of the university’s five-year faculty reinvestment program that resulted in nearly 450 new positions — a 25 percent net gain campus-wide — added to Texas A&M’s academic ranks from 2003 to 2008, including 70 in the College of Science.
Guermond was cited “for contributions to computational mathematics, in particular to the theory of finite element methods in partial differential equations.”
Nekrashevych was cited “for contributions to group theory, dynamics and operator algebras.”
The prestigious designation recognizes members who have made outstanding contributions to the creation, exposition, advancement, communication and utilization of mathematics. The AMS Fellows Program seeks to create an enlarged class of mathematicians recognized by their peers as distinguished for their contributions to the profession and to honor excellence.
“It is a great pleasure to offer my sincere congratulations to the new AMS Fellows, honored for their notable contributions to mathematics and to the profession,” said AMS President Jill C. Pipher. “We are grateful to the nominators and the members of the selection committee for helping the AMS recognize the achievements of their esteemed colleagues through this fellowship.”
Guermond joined the Texas A&M Department of Mathematics faculty in 2004 as a full professor with tenure on arrival and a leading international expert in computational fluid dynamics. He was appointed in 2012 as a co-holder of the Richard E. Ewing-ExxonMobil Chair in Computational Science. Guermond earned both a master’s of science (1983) and doctorate (1985) in theoretical mechanics from the University of Paris, where he also obtained similar advanced degrees in mathematics in 1990 and 1995, respectively. Prior to joining the Texas A&M faculty, he spent 11 years as a French National Centre for Scientific Research research scientist at the Computer Science Laboratory for Mechanics and Engineering Sciences in Orsay, France (1990-2001) and also was a visiting professor in the Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin (2001-2003). Guermond’s research program, which is funded by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, reflects his multidisciplinary education and experience, with interests ranging from numerical analysis, partial differential equations and applied mathematics to 3D Navier-Stokes equations, magneto-hydrodynamics and scientific computing. He has co-authored six books, including the three-volume Finite Elements monograph series, and more than 170 research papers in peer-reviewed journals. In addition, Guermond currently serves as an associate editor for the Journal of Mathematical Analysis and Applications and International Journal of Numerical Analysis and Modeling as well as an editorial board member for Computers & Mathematics with Applications.
Nekrashevych joined the Texas A&M Mathematics faculty in 2005 as an associate professor with tenure, earning promotion to full professor in 2009. He received his Ph.D. in 1998 and his Habilitation in 2006 from Kyiv University and held previous faculty appointments at Kyiv University and International University Bremen. His research, which is focused on geometric group theory, dynamical systems and operator algebras, has been continually funded for the past decade and a half by a single investigator grant from the National Science Foundation. Nekrashevych currently is a editorial board member for four European Mathematical Society publications: the Journal of Combinatorial Algebra, the Journal of Fractal Geometry, Algebra and Discrete Mathematics and Groups, Geometry and Dynamics. Earlier this year, he was named chair editor for book reviews for Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society. He has delivered numerous plenary talks, invited research lectures and short courses throughout the world while also organizing myriad conferences and symposia on various topics. A strong proponent of mathematics education, Nekrashevych has served since 2007 as award committee executive secretary for the Ukraine Mathematics Competition, co-sponsored by the U.S.-based Shevchenko Scientific Society and the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation to support young mathematics researchers and stimulate young people’s interest in pure and applied science. From 1993 to 2001, he also was an organizing committee member for regional and national Ukrainian mathematical competitions for schoolchildren.
Founded in 1888 to further mathematical research and scholarship, the 30,000-member AMS fulfills its mission through programs and services that promote mathematical research and its uses, strengthen mathematical education, and foster awareness and appreciation of mathematics and its connections to other disciplines and everyday life.
Guermond and Nekrashevych join 22 other Texas A&M Mathematics faculty who have achieved AMS Fellow distinction. Harold P. Boas, Ronald A. DeVore, the late Ronald G. Douglas, Rostislav Grigorchuk, William B. Johnson, Peter Kuchment, Gilles Pisier, Frank Sottile, Emil J. Straube, Clarence Wilkerson and Guoliang Yu each were among the inaugural class named in 2013; followed by David Larson in 2015; Thomas Schlumprecht in 2016; Yalchin Efendiev and Joseph Landsberg in 2017; Roger Smith, Sarah Witherspoon and Catherine Yan in 2018; Alexei Poltoratski and J. Maurice Rojas in 2019; and Ken Dykema and Matthew Papanikolas in 2020.
For more on the AMS Fellows Program and a complete list of 2021 honorees, visit http://www.ams.org/profession/ams-fellows/new-fellows.
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Contact: Shana K. Hutchins, (979) 862-1237 or shutchins@science.tamu.edu or Dr. Sarah J. Witherspoon, (979) 845-9424 or head@math.tamu.edu
