UMD News Releases

Dr. Joseph Gallian, University of Minnesota Duluth Professor of Mathematics, and three of his summer research students received high awards at the annual joint meetings of the American Mathematical Society (AMS) and the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) in New Orleans on January 7.

Professor Gallian won the Gung and Hu Award for Distinguished Service to Mathematics, which is intended to be the MAA's most prestigious award for service.

Dr. Gallian was cited for his outstanding work with summer research students from all over the United States in his REU Program (Research Experience for Undergraduates) at UMD, and also for his work with PhDs new to the academic profession, and for communicating mathematics to the widest possible audience.

As an early proponent for undergraduates conducting mathematical research, Dr. Gallian began his REU Program at UMD in 1977. His REU Program is regarded as the premier REU Program in the country.

Articles about Professor Gallian's work have appeared in twenty-five news outlets in the United States as well as in Europe and India; including the prestigious Science News and The New York Times. He has authored more than 100 articles in mathematics journals and other publications. Dr. Gallian has refereed for 40 journals and is a reviewer for the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Research Council of Canada, and the Australian Research Council. He was named by a Duluth newspaper in 2000 as one of the "100 Great Duluthians of the 20th Century."

At the conference, Professor Gallian was also awarded a Certificate for Meritorious Service from the MAA's North Central Section.

Also at the January 7 conference, his summer student, Maria Monks from MIT, received the AMS/MAA Morgan Prize for Outstanding Research in Mathematics by an Undergraduate Student. Another summer student from MIT, Yufei Zhao, received Honorable Mention for the Morgan Prize. A third summer student, Sherry Gong from Harvard, received the Alice T. Schafer Prize for Excellence in Mathematics by an Undergraduate from the Association for Women in Mathematics. All three students will enter PhD programs in mathematics in the fall.

DR. GALLIAN'S OUTSTANDING TEACHING

In the sixteen year history of the Morgan Prize--ten winners have participated in Professor Gallian's summer research program. In the twenty-one years the Schafer Prize has been given--fifteen winners have been in Dr. Gallian's summer research program.