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New Department of Mathematics Chair

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Dean Gus Hart of the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences appointed Dr. Paul M. Jenkins as chair of the Department of Mathematics starting July 1, 2019. Jenkins replaced Michael J. Dorff, who has served as department chair since 2015.

“Paul is a master of the art of undergraduate mentoring,” said Gus Hart, Dean of the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. “He has already made a significant impact to the department—we look forward to working with him in his new capacity as chair.”

Dr. Jenkins’s research in number theory includes studying the zeros and the Fourier coefficients of modular forms. He has published 23 mathematical research papers, and his research has been funded by the Simons Foundation. He has mentored ten graduate students and 25 undergraduate students on research projects at BYU, publishing papers with many of them. With Darrin Doud, he has taught a Late Summer Honors freshman seminar course on mathematical cryptography for nine years.

“I look forward to working with the excellent faculty members, dedicated staff, and talented students in the BYU Department of Mathematics as we continue working together to help our students develop their intellect and character, provide high-quality mathematical instruction and mentoring, and advance and disseminate mathematical knowledge.”

Dr. Jenkins joined the BYU faculty in January 2009. He received a Bachelor of Science in mathematics (’00) and a Master of Science in mathematics (’02) from BYU. He earned his PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (’06) and did postdoctoral work at UCLA, supported by the National Science Foundation. Jenkins received BYU’s Class of 1949 Young Faculty Award in 2018. He served as associate chair of the Department of Mathematics from 2015-2019.