I hope this note finds you well. The past year has been a highly productive one for the Department. Faculty achievements included major NSF and NIH grants awarded to Professors Jeff Buzas, Chris Danforth, and Erika Edwards; service awards for conference organizing received by Professors Alice Patania and Jean-Gabriel Young; the launch of the Justice Research Center by Professor Abigail Crocker; the organization of UVM/Dartmouth Math Day by Professor Spencer Backman; the coaching of math majors competing in international math modeling competitions by Professor Taras Lakoba; and a significant increase to the Evan and Krysta Dummit Endowment Fund by Professor Emeritus David Dummit, among many other accomplishments.
Throughout the year, the Department has continued to advance its teaching, research, and service missions. In particular, we have been closely examining the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on instruction and student learning. While AI offers new opportunities for teaching and learning mathematics, it also poses challenges to traditional pedagogical approaches and to students’ ability to meet learning outcomes. To proactively support our faculty, the Department will host a workshop titled “Math Education in the Age of AI” in January 2026. An external speaker with expertise in this area will discuss both the opportunities and challenges that AI presents for mathematics education.
The Department also welcomed four new faculty members this year: Sam Zhang (Tenure-track Assistant Professor of Statistics), Nate Bottman (Tenure-track Assistant Professor of Mathematics), Scott Stevens (Senior Lecturer of Mathematics), and Anton Hilado (Lecturer of Mathematics). At the same time, Senior Lecturer Jim Hefferon retired this past May, and Professor of Mathematics Jun Yu will retire at the end of December after 35 years of distinguished service.
In addition, Assistant Professors of Mathematics Spencer Backman and Taylor Dupuy were promoted to Associate Professor with tenure, and six other faculty members received reappointments.
This newsletter highlights many of our recent activities in teaching, research, and service. I hope you enjoy reading about what has been happening in the Department and celebrating the successes of our faculty and students. Please feel free to keep us updated on your own exciting news (you can write to me, jxyang@uvm.edu, or to the Department, mathstat@uvm.edu).
Warm regards and happy holidays,
Jianke (Jackie) Yang Professor and Chair Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Alice Patania and Jean-Gabriel Young Recognized for Québec City Conference
A six-member organizing team that included Alice Patania (Assistant Professor of Mathematics) and Jean-Gabriel Young (Assistant Professor of Statistics) received two awards in January 2025 in recognition of their organization of the NetSci 2024 International School and Conference on Network Science, held in Québec City, Canada, from June 15–20, 2024. Among the honors was the Best Event of the Year Award from the Circle of Ambassadors of Québec. The team traveled to Québec City to accept the awards at a formal ceremony in January 2025; a photo from the event appears above.
This year, we were pleased to welcome the following faculty members to the Math/Stat Department:
Sam Zhang, Assistant Professor of Statistics
Dr. Zhang received his PhD in Applied Mathematics from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2024. Upon graduation, he was hired by UVM as a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Statistics but deferred his appointment for one year to work as a postdoctoral fellow in Applied Complexity at the Santa Fe Institute. He joined our faculty this fall. Dr. Zhang’s research focuses on the dynamics of science, inequality in academia, and the broader social impacts of data and networks.
Dr. Nate Bottman, Assistant Professor of Mathematics
Dr. Bottmanreceived his PhD in Mathematics from MIT in 2015. He then held postdoctoral positions at Northeastern University (2015–2016) and Princeton University (2016–2019), followed by an appointment as Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the University of Southern California (2019–2020). From 2021 to 2025, he worked at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in Bonn, Germany, as a Group Leader and Advanced Researcher. Dr. Bottman was hired by UVM as a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Mathematics this year but deferred his appointment until Fall 2026. He is currently serving as CEO and Principal Scientist of Incubilate, a company he recently founded.
Dr. Scott Stevens, Senior Lecturer of Mathematics
Dr. Stevens received his PhD in Applied Mathematics from UVM in 1999. Upon graduation, he served as Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the University of Montana (2000–2002) and at Penn State Erie (2002–2007). He then joined Champlain College as Associate Professor of Mathematics from 2007 to 2016 and served as Dean of its Information Technology and Sciences Division from 2016 to 2025. Dr. Stevens joined UVM this fall as Senior Lecturer of Mathematics.
Dr. Anton Hilado, Lecturer of Mathematics
Dr. Hilado received his PhD in Mathematics from UVM in August 2025 (advised by Associate Professor of Mathematics Christelle Vincent). His thesis work spanned a variety of topics in the very technical world of the Langlands program, from the explicit construction of quaternionic modular forms on the unitary group of signature (2,n), to determining the arrangement of irregular loci in the irreducible component of the reduced Emerton-Gee stack for GL_2, to an in-depth study of Clifford-Bianchi groups and their action on higher-dimensional hyperbolic spaces. His PhD work that has been published so far has appeared in the Journal fur die Reine und Angewandte Mathematik (a Q1 journal) and the Ramanujan Journal, and he has several more articles under submission. He was hired as a Lecturer of Mathematics for one year this fall.
Congratulations to the following faculty members on their promotions or reappointments in the past year:
Assistant Professors of Mathematics Spencer Backman and Taylor Dupuy were promoted to Associate Professor with tenure.
The following Mathematics and Statistics faculty members were reappointed in 2025: Research Professor of StatisticsErika Edwards; tenure-track Associate Professor of Statistics Abigail Crocker; tenure-track Assistant Professor of Statistics Jean-Gabriel Young; tenure-track Assistant Professor of Mathematics Alice Patania; Lecturer of Mathematics Jeff Jewell; and Lecturer of Statistics Miki Dash.
Chris Danforth Delivered University Scholar Lecture
Professor of Mathematics Chris Danforth, recipient of the 2024 University Scholar award, delivered his University Scholar lecture in Waterman Memorial Lounge on May 5, 2025, from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. His lecture was titled “Computational Social Science at UVM.” A photo from the event appears above.
Erika Edwards and Jeff Buzas Received New NIH Grant.
Research Professor of Statistics Erika Edwards and Professor of Statistics Jeff Buzas have received a new five-year NIH grant (2025–2030) totaling $736,279. The project, titled “Reducing Disparities in Access to High-level Neonatal Intensive Care and Neonatal Outcomes,” will use Vermont Oxford Network data to analyze how transfer policies and characteristics impact neonatal mortality and morbidity rates among very low birth weight infants of different race/ethnicity through changes in access to high-level NICU care, and it will be in partnership with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Abigail Crocker Helped Launch UVM Justice Research Center
The UVM Justice Research Center (JRC) held a launch event hosted by the Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships in April 2025. Associate Professor of Statistics Abigail Crocker is the Director of the JRC which leverages the power of data to bring communities, policy makers, and researchers together for meaningful social change. The event included a panel discussion featuring community partners from across Vermont who will collaborate on research programming at the Justice Research Center.
Chris Danforth and Other UVM co-PIs Received Large NSF Instrumentation Grant
Professor of Mathematics Chris Danforth, along with four other UVM co-PIs, received a large $2,165,729 NSF Research Instrumentation grant. The project, titled “MRI: Track 2 Acquisition of a Transformational High-Performance Computing Cluster for AI Research, Innovation, and Capacity Building for Vermont,” will fund the construction of IceCore, a GPU-focused high-performance computing (HPC) system that enhances critically needed research computing capacity in Northern New England. The grant covers a three-year period, from September 1, 2025, to August 31, 2028. Pictured above are UVM Chief Technology Officer Mike Austin, VACC Executive Director Andrea Elledge, and VACC Director Chris Danforth.
Jeff Buzas Received a Second New NIH Grant
Professor of Statistics and Statistics Program Director Jeff Buzashas received another new five-year NIH R01 grant (2025–2030). The project, titled “Impact of 12-Month Postpartum Insurance Extensions on Maternal and Newborn Health,” is a collaboration with the University of South Carolina. Professor Buzas serves as the UVM Principal Investigator, and the UVM portion of the grant totals $660,000.
Former Graduate Student Calum Buchanan Working as Visiting Assistant Professor at University of Denver
Graduate student Calum Buchanan(advised by Associate Professor of Mathematics Puck Rombach) graduated this May and started a 3-year position as Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Denver, working with Prof. Mei Yin and Prof. Paul Horn in combinatorics. Calum completed both his BA and PhD at UVM. Before he graduated, he was a Vermont Space Grant Consortium Fellow, and completed his PhD with 9 publications (4 in Q1 journals), mainly on extremal graph theory and problems in graph representation and linear algebra.
Former Graduate Student Holly Page Chaos Working as Postdoc at Dartmouth College
Graduate student Holly Paige Chaos(advised by Associate Professor of Mathematics Christelle Vincent) graduated this May. After a summer in the Graduate Mathematics Program working closely with fellow interns and NSA and DOD employees developing new software and algorithms, she has now taken a position at Dartmouth College as a postdoc working with Asher Auel, where she teaches a variety of math courses while continuing her PhD thesis work on Weierstrass points on Shimura curves. Her earlier masters degree work, done at Wake Forest University, was recently published in the Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society (a Q1 journal), and her PhD thesis work is expected to be just as impactful when it is accepted for publication.
Former Graduate Student Jeremy Quail Working as Postdoc at University of Amsterdam
Graduate student Jeremy Quail(advised by Associate Professor of Mathematics Puck Rombach) graduated this May and started a postdoc position at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, working on applying combinatorial methods to machine learning and chemistry. Before he graduated, he was a 2-year Vermont Space Grant Consortium Fellow and has worked as a NASA intern, as well as a visitor at the Los Alamos National Lab, where he worked on applying machine learning to high entropy alloy design. He graduated with 3 publications, and the main paper from his thesis work on positroids has been published in Combinatorial Theory (a Q1 journal).
Math Major Participating in Mathematical Modeling Competition
A UVM team consisting of sophomore math major Prakash Pant (pictured above, left), and Waterbury High School student Owen Lindow (pictured above, right) who has taken several upper-level math courses at UVM, participated in the international SIMIODE Challenge Using Differential Equations Modeling (SCUDEM) 2025 Competition, sponsored by MathWorks. The competition attracted approximately 1,200 teams from universities around the world, with each team comprising up to three students. The UVM team was coached by Professor of Mathematics Taras Lakoba.
Over three weeks in October and November, the students worked on a topic they selected from a list proposed by SCUDEM organizers: modeling the “fate” of cosmic particles entering Earth’s atmosphere. Specifically, they proposed and solved a model predicting whether these particles would melt or evaporate, using mathematical tools learned in Math 3230 and 6737. As part of the competition, they presented their results in a video (view here), in accordance with SCUDEM rules. The team received an “Outstanding” rating—the highest possible—for their presentation, with a numerical score of 4.20/5 based on judges’ reports.
Senior Lecturer of Mathematics Jim Hefferonretired this May. Dr. Hefferon joined UVM two years ago. Prior to that, he had taught at Saint Michael’s College for 23 years and served as Chair of its Mathematics Department for 7 years. Dr. Hefferon has had a distinguished academic career. He published multiple books (including an award-winning book on Linear Algebra). He was also deeply involved with the TeX and LaTeX communities and published one LaTeX 2e Reference Manual and over 30 papers in TeX-related journals. He was also a skilled and beloved teacher and a valued colleague. The Department held a small retirement celebration in his honor at Waterman Manor on May 6, 2025; a photo from the event appears above.
Jun Yu to Retire This December After 35 Years of Service at UVM
Professor of Mathematics Jun Yu has announced his retirement, effective December 31, 2025, after taking advantage of UVM’s Voluntary Retirement with Health Savings Incentive Option. Professor Yu has served UVM for 35 years and has made substantial contributions to the Department’s teaching, research, and service missions.
His research has covered a wide range of areas, including water waves, mathematical biology, Arctic Sea ice modeling, combustion modeling, and mathematical finance. Over his career, he has published 61 papers in reputable journals and supervised many PhD and MS students.
Professor Yu has provided exemplary service, including eight years as Associate Chair of the Department, three years as Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship in the college, and seven years as Associate Director of the Vermont Space Grant Consortium. His leadership has significantly benefited the department, the college, and the university.
He has been a dedicated and effective teacher, consistently receiving very strong student evaluations, and he is well respected by colleagues and students alike.
At the College’s Winter Shindig lunch on December 10, 2025, the Department presented Professor Yu with a bag of gifts, purchased using cash donations from current and former faculty. We thank Professor Yu for his many years of service and wish him the very best in his retirement.
Following the first Dartmouth-UVM Math Day at Dartmouth in 2024, our department hosted the first UVM-Darmouth Math Day at UVM on April 27, 2025. The event, organized by Assistant Professor Spencer Backman and graduate students Rick Danner, Sienna Unter, and Patrick Zugel, had around 30 participants. Plenary talks were given by UVM Associate Professor Puck Rombach and Dartmouth Assistant Professor Alena Archenko. Many additional contributed talks were given by members of the UVM and Dartmouth communities, and the event concluded with a catered dinner. This event was financially supported by our department.
2025 Math Bee Contests
The bi-annual Math Bee Contests were held on April 23 and Nov. 18, 2025. Math Bee is a friendly competition between math faculty and undergraduate Math Club students on middle-school-level MathCounts-style questions.
The spring competition was organized by Lecturer Jeff Jewell and the Math Club, with Senior Lecturer Joe Kudrle serving as Master of Ceremony. Nineteen students competed against six faculty members—Mike Eismeier, Dan Hathaway, Jeff Jewell, Taras Lakoba, Alice Patania, and Jianke Yang—plus one outside observer. After the final round bids were tabulated in Jeopardy style, the final score was faculty 29, students 1, allowing the faculty team to reclaim the Golden Pi Trophy. A photo from the event appears on the top above.
The fall competition was organized by Senior Lecturer Dan Hathaway and the Math Club, again with Joe Kudrle as Master of Ceremony. The faculty team included Dan Hathaway, Anton Hilado, Jeff Jewell, Alice Patania, Rosi Rosebush, Jianke Yang, and two graduate students, competing against 22 Math Club students. Before the final round, the score was 20 faculty points to 12 student points. Both teams missed the final question, resulting in a final score of faculty 15, students 0. Thus, the faculty team retained the Golden Pi Trophy. A photo from this event appears on the bottom above.
Statistics Students Attend Inaugural VT-ASQ Conference
17 students from Senior Lecturer Katherine Merrill’s Statistics for Quality and Productivity (STAT 3240) course attended the first-ever VT section of the American Society of Quality (VT-ASQ) Conference in Burlington this past September where dozens of Vermont businesses participated. CEMS alum and VT-ASQ educator Tim King is a regular guest lecturer in Merrill’s class and invites 1-2 students each year to participate in the VT-ASQ Student Quality Research Program.
Pictured above (left) is Merrill accepting a conference sponsor award on CEMS behalf from King. At right is CEMS Biomedical Engineering and former STAT-3240 student Olivia Varholak (far left) participating in a Keynote panel on engaging employees in quality improvement.
Math Club Students Attending HRUMC Conference
On April 5, 2025, seven students from the Math Club(pictured above) attended the Hudson River Undergraduate Mathematics Conference (HRUMC) at Union College (Schenectady, NY). The students enjoyed the conference as well as local food and had a great time.
MathCounts is a national competition for middle school students. This year, 71 students from 18 schools across Vermont participated in the state competition at UVM. The team from F.H. Tuttle Middle School in South Burlington won first place. The top four individual performers from the state competition, together with the coach of F.H. Tuttle Middle School, formed Vermont’s State MathCounts Team (pictured above) and competed at the National MathCounts Competition in Washington, D.C., in May 2025.
Vermont High School Math Competition 2025
The 68th Annual Vermont High School Math Contest was held on March 11, 2025. Likely the oldest continuously running state high school math contest of its kind in the U.S., it was organized by the Department’s High School Math Contest Committee, chaired by Vice Department Chair and Senior Lecturer Helen Read, with members Nichole Caisse, Jeff Jewell, and Taras Lakoba. This year, 33 schools participated. Prizes were awarded to the top eight individuals in the state, as well as to regional winners, at our annual Math Day on campus on May 21, 2025. Winners are pictured above. Financial support for the contest series is provided by the Evan and Krysta Dummit Fund.
David Dummit Increasing Evan and Krysta Dummit Endowment Fund
Earlier this year, Professor Emeritus David Dummit significantly increased the principal of the already-endowed Evan and Krysta Dummit Fund, which provides financial support for the UVM High School Mathematics Contest. In anticipation of the fund’s increased annual income, Professor Dummit has also granted the Department greater flexibility in how the funds may be used. In addition to supporting the contest, the Department may now use the fund to enhance the quality of life for its faculty—for example, by supporting faculty-centered social events, or by purchasing coffee machines, recreational equipment, and similar items. The Department deeply appreciates Professor Dummit’s exceptional generosity and longstanding support.
