Research
The NC State Department of Mathematics is a recognized research leader with a distinctive blend of foundational, applied and interdisciplinary research.
Fundamental to Interdisciplinary
In our department, we engage in cutting-edge research across a broad spectrum of mathematics and its applications. Our research ranges from fundamental questions in algebra, combinatorics, topology and geometry to collaborations with scientists and engineers. And with the top five highest research funding in the nation in the mathematical sciences (math, applied math, and statistics) from 2012 to 2015, according to the National Science Foundation, we have the resources to find solutions.
We have strong relationships with other departments across the university and other universities in the area that help students — both undergraduate and graduate — pursue their research interests. Our faculty lead NC State’s Center for Research in Scientific Computation and the National Science Foundation-funded Statistical and Mathematical Sciences Institute in Research Triangle Park.
Math faculty and students work with physicists, nuclear engineers, biologists and statisticians on some of the highest-profile research projects at NC State. They are helping address nuclear nonproliferation, the spread of dengue fever, the need for personalized medicine, the interpretation of the genome and the development of smart materials.
“One of the distinctive characteristics of the NC State mathematics department is the way it blends interdisciplinary research with foundational research.”
American Mathematical Society
Our department is one of the most successful in the nation in securing research grants, with annual funding of more than $5 million. Our younger faculty have won Packard, Sloan and National Science Foundation CAREER awards, while our senior faculty include 13 Fellows of the American Mathematical Society, the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, IEEE, the Association for Computing Machinery and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics.
Bociu Receives NSF CAREER Award
Mathematics faculty member Lorena Bociu earned a prestigious award from the National Science Foundation for her research on biomechanics and hemodynamics, focusing on a structure in the eye that could shed new light on glaucoma.
Graduate Research
Graduate students are immersed in a welcoming environment that supports them in doing significant research. It begins with the department’s recruitment weekend, which helps forge one-on-one relationships that continue after students arrive on campus. Because of our success in obtaining research grants, we were able to fund more than 20 graduate students through research assistantships in 2015-16.
Undergraduate Research
Undergraduate research opportunities in our department come in many forms. Our Undergraduate Honors Program includes a one-semester faculty-directed research project. Several of the department’s research grants include support for undergraduate researchers, and undergraduates interested in biomathematics can take a two-semester course sequence that prepares them for a yearlong research experience that includes summer support. Students learn about faculty research interests through the Society for Undergraduate Mathematics series of talks.
NC State’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program, funded by the National Science Foundation, brings top undergraduates from across the country to NC State each summer to work with faculty in teams of three or four students on projects with links to industry and government labs. NC State students who participate have the chance to collaborate with talented peers and faculty mentors.
