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50 Years
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BYU Mathematics Today

Recent Highlights

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2023 Cougs vs Cancer Run

This year, in memory of Todd Fisher, the math department participated in the 28th annual Cougs vs Cancer Run. The 5k run raises awareness for those with cancer, and all proceeds go to fund student research at the BYU Simmons Center for Cancer Research. The race course takes a loop around campus and begins at the BYU track field. This year the race took place on March 11th.
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BYU Places 13th at Putnam Mathematics Competition

The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition is an advanced problem-solving competition for undergraduate students in the United States and Canada. Students compete individually and in teams to solve 18 math problems. The competition consists of three 1-hour sessions. Students are expected to work on 6 problems during each session. In the 83rd annual Putnam exam in 2022, BYU competed against teams from 455 other institutions and won 13th place overall.
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A new 5 year BS/MS program in mathematics has been approved

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Mathematics Department Hosts Math Circles

Every Saturday, the math department hosts a math tutoring lab called Math Circles. The lab is configured to help students from elementary, middle, and high school grades.
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Math Department Holds Summer Math Camps

Each summer, the math department holds math camps for high school and middle school students. The students participate in this 5-day camp where they spend the morning and early afternoon having fun with math and going to classes.
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Current Enrollments

335 Undergraduates

38 Master's Students

7 PhD Students

494 Minors

Degrees Offered

BS Mathematics

MS Mathematics

PhD Mathematics

BS Mathematics: Applied and Computational Mathematics

Research Areas

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Algebra and Algebraic Geometry

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Analysis

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Combinatorics and Matrix Theory

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Differential Equations and Dynamical Systems

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Minimal Surfaces

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Number Theory

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Numerical Analysis and Applied Mathematics

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Topology and Geometric Group Theory

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Click here for more information about our research areas

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Current Chair

Dr. Paul Jenkins

Dr. Jenkins joined the BYU faculty in January 2009 and has been the department chair since 2019. He received his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2006 and did postdoctoral work at UCLA. His research is in number theory and modular forms, and he has been funded by the Simons Foundation. He has mentored 26 undergraduates, nine master’s students, and one PhD student in research projects. Dr. Jenkins received the BYU Class of 1949 Young Faculty Award in 2018.

Recent Retirees

Dr. Shue-Sum Chow

Dr. Shue-Sum Chow began working for the math department on January 5, 1998, and he retired on July 1, 2023. He received his PhD in mathematics from the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia in 1983. His research interest is in numerical analysis.

Dr. Rodney Forcade

Dr. Rodney Forcade began working for the BYU math department on September 1, 1981, and he retired on July 1, 2023. His research interests are in combinatorics, number theory, and graph theory. In the SIAM News, volume 33 number 4 (2000), he and his co-author Helaman Ferguson were listed in an article entitled "The Best of the 20th Century: Editors Name Top 10 Algorithms."

Prof. Kening Lu

Dr. Kening Lu began working for the math department on August 27, 1990, and he retired on August 1, 2022. He has received many awards, including the Young Scholar Award in 1993, the Karl G. Maeser Research and Creative Arts Award in 2001, and the Karl G. Maeser Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Award in 2007, and he is a fellow of the American Mathematical Society. Dr. Lu was a popular teacher and continues to be active in his research fields of stochastic partial differential equations and dynamical systems.

In Memory of

Dr. Todd Fisher

Recently Passed Away
In July 2022, Todd Fisher passed away shortly after being diagnosed with advanced liver cancer. In his 15 years at BYU, Todd established a reputation as an excellent teacher and a respected scholar of dynamical systems, mentored many students and younger faculty members, and played a major role in many of the good things happening in the BYU math department. He taught in the honors program and served as associate chair for six years. He shared his smile and his love for his family, for learning, for the gospel, and for BYU with everyone around him.

For more information about the Mathematics department and additional resources, visit their department website!

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