Mathematics People

Rousseau Named Officer of the Order of Canada

Christiane Rousseau, professor emerita at Université de Montréal, was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada for her contributions to mathematics and to mathematical outreach. Her research area is dynamical systems.

Rousseau was the driving force behind Mathematics for Planet Earth, an international designation for the year 2013 which highlighted the role of mathematics in addressing global challenges. She also spearheaded UNESCO’s proclamation of March 14 as the International Day of Mathematics (IDM), “which she is instrumental in ensuring to have celebrated in every school across the planet,” according to a press release.

Rousseau has served in leadership positions of the IDM, Canadian Mathematical Society, Centre de Recherches Mathématiques (CRM), and the International Mathematical Union (IMU). She served on the Scientific Board of the International Basic Science Program of UNESCO for 2015–2020. The inaugural recipient of the AMS Bertrand Russell Prize in 2018, Rousseau is a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society (AMS) and the Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS).

—Centre de Recherches Mathématiques

Vinzant, Colleagues Awarded NAS Held Prize

Nima Anari, Stanford University, Kuikui Liu, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Shayan Oveis Gharan and Cynthia Vinzant, University of Washington, received the Michael and Sheila Held Prize from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for breakthrough work advancing the theory of matroids and mixing rates of Markov chains.

A Fellow of the American Mathematical Society (AMS), Vinzant is a Member at Large of the AMS Council and a member of the AMS Committee on Science Policy.

According to an NAS press release, “Their work has bridged the theory of high dimensional expanders, the geometry of polynomials, and the analysis of Markov chains. Their work resolves the 30-year-old Mihail-Vazirani conjecture that the basis exchange walk on a matroid mixes rapidly, and for initiating the highly influential theory of spectral independence.

“Creating connections between these three subfields, their work has already led to numerous important developments in theoretical computer science and will continue to drive this work forward in the future.”

The Held Prize is presented annually “to honor outstanding, innovative, creative, and influential research in the areas of combinatorial and discrete optimization, or related parts of computer science, such as the design and analysis of algorithms and complexity theory.” The prize is presented with $100,000.

—AMS Communications

Bini, Li Win 2025 Schneider Prize in Linear Algebra

Dario Bini (University of Pisa) and Chi-Kwong Li (College of William and Mary) were awarded the 2025 Hans Schneider Prize in Linear Algebra by the International Linear Algebra Society (ILAS).

The Schneider Prize honors research, contributions, and achievements at the highest level of linear algebra: an outstanding scientific achievement or lifetime contribution.

Bini was recognized for his substantial contributions to several areas of computational linear algebra, including matrix multiplication, polynomials and structured matrices, Markov chains, and algebraic Riccati equations.

Li was recognized for his substantial contributions to several areas of linear algebra, including matrix analysis, operator theory, quantum information theory, and combinatorial matrix theory.

According to the society, ILAS “serves as a hub for scholars in linear algebra and related fields, facilitating networking, the exchange of ideas, and advancing scientific knowledge across disciplines.”

—International Linear Algebra Society

Zhang to Give AWM Kovalevsky Lecture

Yongjie Jessica Zhang of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) has been selected as the 2025 Sonia Kovalevsky Lecturer by the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM). She will deliver the lecture at the 2025 SIAM/CAIMS Annual Meeting in Montréal, Québec, Canada, to be held July 28–August 1, 2025.

Zhang is the George Tallman Ladd and Florence Barrett Ladd Professor of Mechanical Engineering at CMU with a courtesy appointment in Biomedical Engineering. Her pioneering work in computational geometry and finite element methods has had profound impacts across biomedical and engineering applications.

“Zhang has advanced meshing techniques which enable precise simulations in complex domains that appear in medical imaging and biological modeling,” according to a press release. “Her innovative research on isogeometric analysis has set new standards in numerical accuracy and computational efficiency.

“Zhang’s numerous publications, leadership roles, and accolades, including her status as a fellow of several scientific societies, underscore her dedication to advancing the field and inspiring the next generation of computational scientists.”

The Kovalevsky Lecture honors Sonia Kovalevsky (1850–1891), the most widely known Russian mathematician of the late 19th century. In 1874, Kovalevsky received her Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Göttingen and was appointed lecturer at the University of Stockholm in 1883. Kovalevsky did her most important work in the theory of differential equations.

—Association for Women in Mathematics