News

Applied mathematics can be a powerful tool in helping predict the genesis and evolution of different types of cancers, a study from the University of Waterloo has found.

The study used a form of mathematical analysis called evolutionary dynamics to look at how malignant mutations evolve in both stem and non-stem cells in colorectal and intestinal cancers.

Kirsten Morris has been elected chair of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) Activity Group on Control and Systems Theory for 2018-2019.   This SIAM Activity Group fosters collaboration and interaction among mathematicians, engineers, and other scientists in those areas of research related to the theory of systems and their control.

Analyzing trends on Twitter and Google can help predict vaccine scares that can lead to disease outbreaks, according to a study from the University of Waterloo.

In the study, researchers examined Google searches and geocoded tweets with the help of artificial intelligence and a mathematical model. The resulting data enabled them to analyze public perceptions on the value of getting vaccinated and determine when a population was getting close to a tipping point.

Jun Liu

Applied Mathematics faculty member Jun Liu has been named Canada Research Chair, as part of the Government of Canada’s Canada Research Chairs Program.

Graduate Matthew Ambacher (centre), along with Michael Waite (left) and Francs Poulin (right)

Eight graduate degrees in applied mathematics were awarded at the Fall 2017 convocation.

The 2017 Applied Mathematics Doctoral Award has been given to Ali Mahdipour Shirayeh.  The award, which is valued at $200 CAD, is given annually to a departmental nominee for the Alumni Gold Medal and the Governor General’s Gold Medal. Dr. Mahdipour Shirayeh defended his PhD, entitled “Evolutionary Dynamics of Cancer: Spatial and Heterogeneous Effects”, in January 2017, and is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Princess Margaret Cancer Center, University Health Network in Toronto.

Applied Math Professor Jun Liu received the Nonlinear Analysis: Hybrid Systems Paper Prize, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of hybrid systems documented in a paper published in the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC) Journal Nonlinear Analysis: Hybrid Systems. At each IFAC World Congress the prize is awarded to the authors of two selected papers published in the journal in the three years preceding the IFAC World Congress. 

Spring 2017 graduates Subasha Wickramarachchi, Demetri Pananos, along with David Harmsworth, Francis Poulin & Marek Stastna

​Twelve graduate degrees in Applied Mathematics were awarded at the 2017 spring convocation.

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Three graduate students in Applied Math have received Outstanding Teaching Assistant Awards. Hanzhe Chen, Brendon Phillips, and Paul Tiede each received at least two outstanding TA nominations for their work in the Spring 2016, Fall 2016, and Winter 2017 terms. They will each receive a $200 UW gift card. Congratulations!

John Lang, a former Applied Mathematics PhD student, has been featured in DSWeb, the online magazine for the SIAM Dynamical Systems Activity Group. Dr. Lang is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of California Los Angeles.