Department Committees: Area Chairs, Committee Appointments, and Faculty Liaisons

Area Chairs

Area chairs are designated in each of the principal active areas of research and educational activity in the department of mathematics. Area chairs convene meetings with interested area participants to discuss topics of interest to the area and serve in an advisory role to the department chair on matters related to needs or requirements of their respective areas. More information about the charge of area chairs can be found in the area chair policies.  

  • Actuarial Science: Runhuan Feng
  • Algebraic Geometry: Sheldon Katz
  • Physical Mathematics: Sheldon Katz
  • Algebra: Philippe Di Francesco
  • Analysis: Alex Tumanov
  • Combinatorics: Jozsef Balogh & Alexander Kostochka
  • Differential Equations: Jared Bronksi (fall ’22), Nikkos Tzirakis (spring ’23)
  • Geometry and Topology: Charles Rezk
  • Number Theory: Kevin Ford
  • Probability: Renming Song

 

Standing Committees, 2022–23

The Department of Mathematics assembles the following seven committees each year in accordance with department bylaws. Committee minutes, reports, and other procedural documents for these committees can be found in the Department Committees Box Folder. (Note: the Box link is only available to affiliates of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.)

Executive Committee

The executive committee works alongside the department chair concerning all matters of the department, including but not limited to preparation of the department budget; establishing additional committees outside the seven standing committees established in the department bylaws; and overseeing elections, hiring and recruitment, salaries, adherence to policies and procedures set forth by department bylaws; and identifying other needs and requirements of the department.

Address all correspondence concerning this committee to math-ec2223@illinois.edu.

  • Vera Hur (chair)
  • Daniel Berwick Evans (2022–24)
  • Lee Deville (2022–24)
  • Partha Dey (fall 2022)
  • Jeremiah Heller (spring 2023)
  • Aimo Hinkkanen (2022–24)
  • Marius Junge (2021–23)
  • Renming Song (2021­–23)

Grievance Committee

The Grievance Committee is responsible for fielding any grievance presented by any person with an academic appointment in the department and addressing any grievance within the scope of its charge.

Address all correspondence concerning this committee to math-grievance-committee@illinois.edu.

  • Zoi Rapti (2021­–22)
  • Bruce Reznick (2022–24)
  • Vesna Stojanoska (2021–23)
  • Susan Tolman (2022–24)

Capricious Grading Committee

The Capricious Grading Committee fields all capricious grading appeals in accordance with the procedures described in the Student Code and may also serve on a hearing committee to consider appeals of academic integrity charges that are brought in accordance with the procedures described in Article 1 Part 4 of the Student Code.

Address all correspondence concerning this committee to  math-capricious-grading@illinois.edu.

  • Ely Kerman (2022–24)
  • Denka Kutzarova (2021–23)
  • Laura Placzek (2022–24)

Promotion and Tenure Committee

The Promotion and Tenure Committee is responsible for making recommendations to the Department Chair and Executive Committee regarding promotions and tenure of faculty members. This committee makes their recommendations in consideration of the current statement on Promotion and Tenure Policies of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and the policies set forth in the current Procedures of the Department of Mathematics Promotion and Tenure.

Address all correspondence concerning this committee to math-promotion-tenure@illinois.edu.

  • Nathan Dunfield (chair)
  • Vera Hur (ex officio)
  • Scott Ahlgren (fall ’22)
  • Jozsef Balogh (2021–23)
  • Sankar Dutta (2022–24)
  • Burak Erdogan (2022–24)
  • Kevin Ford (2022–24)
  • Eugene Lerman (2021–23)
  • Igor Nikolaev (2022–24)
  • Timur Oikhberg (2022–24)
  • Charles Rezk (2021–23)
  • Nikos Tzirakis (spring ’23)

Undergraduate Affairs Committee

The Undergraduate Affairs Committee serves as an educational policy committee for the undergraduate mathematics program of the department, providing guidance and oversight organization and quality of the undergraduate courses and curricula, including advising, honors, extension, and correspondence course programs.

Address all correspondence concerning this committee to math-undergraduate-affairs@illinois.edu.

  • Lee Deville (ex officio)
  • Eugene Lerman (chair)
  • Sasha Kostochka
  • Jennifer McNeilly
  • Sambit Senapati
  • Richard Sowers
  • Vadim Zharnitsky (chair’s designate)

Graduate Affairs Committee

The Graduate Affairs Committee considers all matters concerning the graduate program, making recommendations where appropriate to the tenure system faculty or to the Department Chair and the Executive Committee. Charges include, but are not limited to, size and distribution of the graduate student body, criteria for admission and allocation of fellowships and assistantships, programs of study, policy regarding availability and staffing of graduate courses, graduate examinations, criteria for retention of students and renewal of support, counseling and advising of students, requirements for degrees, and interdisciplinary graduate programs.

Address all correspondence concerning this committee to math-gac@illinois.edu.

  • Yuliy Baryshnikov (ex officio)
  • Burak Erdogan (chair)
  • Jozsef Balogh
  • Sai Bavisetty
  • Rui Loja Fernandes
  • Wei Wei
  • Timur Oikhberg

The open minutes for the Graduate Affairs Committee may be found here

Personnel Committee for Specialized Faculty

This committee makes recommendations to the Department Chair and the Executive Committee concerning initial appointment and promotion for specialized faculty (e.g. teaching associate professor, teaching professor, research associate professor, and research professor).

Address all correspondence concerning this committee to math-specialized-faculty@illinois.edu.

  • Vadim Zharnitsky (chair)
  • Ely Kerman
  • Richard Laugesen

 

Ad Hoc Committees and Others (2022–23)

The following committees have been established by the Department Chair and Executive Committee to address specific needs and operations of the department. Unless otherwise noted address all correspondence concerning these committees to the current committee chair. 

Committee minutes, reports, and other procedural documents for these committees can be found in the Department Committees Box Folder. (Note: the Box link is only available to affiliates of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.)

Action Plan for Accommodation Working Group

  • Iwan Duursma (chair)
  • Kerry Butson
  • Sophie Larsen
  • Grace McCourt
  • Jenny Srikant

Alumni Awards Committee

Each year, the Department of Mathematics recognizes exceptional alumni who have made significant contributions through outstanding professional achievement in academia, research, and industry. This committee reviews nominations for the annual alumni awards and selects recipients.

  • Vera Hur (chair)
  • Matt Ando
  • Runhuan Feng
  • Shelby Koehne 

Altgeld/Illini Hall Renovation Committee

  • Steve Bradlow (chair, fall ‘22)
  • Sheldon Katz (chair, spring ’23)
  • Vera Hur
  • Kevin Armstrong
  • Nathan Dunfield
  • Kay Kirkpatrick
  • Richard Laugesen
  • Alison Reddy

Awards, Fellowships, and Scholarships Committee

This committee is responsible for selecting the recipients of department awards for students, faculty, and staff.

  • Alexandru Zaharescu (chair)
  • Pierre Albin
  • Yuliy Baryshnikov
  • Lee Deville
  • Gabriele La Nave
  • Xiaochun Li

Climate, Equity, & Inclusion Committee (CEI)

The CEI Committee discusses issues of equity and climate broadly across the department as they relate to student admission, classroom instruction, mentoring, hiring, evaluation, and the promotion and tenure process. The committee makes specific recommendations for ongoing actions or initiatives to improve the overall climate and promote an equitable and inclusive working environment.

Address all correspondence concerning this committee to math-cei@illinois.edu

  • Pierre Albin (chair)
  • Anji Dong
  • Jeremiah Heller (spring ’23 only)
  • Ryan McConnell
  • Karen Mortensen
  • Jennifer McNeilly
  • James Pascaleff (fall ’22 only)
  • Bruce Reznick

Colloquium & Named Lectures Committee

This committee is responsible for arranging colloquia and hosting invited speakers to the Department of Mathematics. 

  • Denka Kutzarova (chair)
  • Florin Boca
  • Anthony D’Arienzo
  • Anil Hirani (MSS)
  • Jesse Thorner

Computer Steering Committee

The Computer Steering Committee oversees the computing infrastructure in the Department of Mathematics. In particular, it sets policy (on behalf of the Executive Committee) and it manages the budget allocated for computer expenses.

  • Brock Martin (chair)
  • Aaron Davis
  • Yuliy Baryshnikov

Graduate Recruitment & Application Screening Committee

  • Yuliy Baryshnikov (chair)
  • Philippe Di Francesco
  • Chris Dodd
  • Sankar Dutta
  • William Haboush
  • Eduard Kirr
  • Igor Mineyev
  • Alex Tumanov
  • Nikos Tzirakis
  • Alexandru Zaharescu

Honors Committee

  • Eugene Lerman
  • Alex Yong

Mathematics Development Advisory Board

  • Vera Hur
  • Sheldon Katz (chair)
  • George Akst
  • Jerome Casey
  • William Perry
  • William Schwegler
  • William Tabler
  • Peggy Ruff
  • Nancy Corrigan
  • Robert Megginson
  • Matthew Deady
  • Roger Wolfson
  • Nancy Balma

NetMath Transition Taskforce

  • Jared Bronski (chair)
  • Bruce Carpenter
  • Amber Holmes
  • Randy McCarthy
  • Anu Murphy

Postdoctoral Search Committee

  • Zoi Rapti (chair)
  • Chris Dodd
  • Aimo Hinkkanen
  • Yuan Liu
  • Alex Yong

Social Events Committee

  • Chris Dodd (chair)
  • Ann Byers

Space Committee

  • Rui Loja Fernandes (chair)
  • Kevin Armstrong
  • Wilmer Smilde
  • April Hoffmeister

Strategic Planning Committee

  • Steve Bradlow (chair, fall ’22)
  • Anil Hirani (chair, spring ’23)
  • Phillipe Di Francesco
  • Kay Kirkpatrick
  • Felix Leditzky

Teaching Awards Committee

  • Scott Ahlgren (chair)
  • April Hoffmeister
  • James Pascaleff

Undergraduate Advising Committee

  • Florin Boca
  • William Haboush
  • Sergei Ivanov
  • Rinat Kedem
  • Eduard Kirr (spring ’23)
  • Xiaochun Li
  • Jennifer McNeilly
  • Igor Mineyev
  • Igor Nikolaev
  • Matthew Russel
  • Alex Yong

Faculty Search & Hiring Committees

Open Area 

  • Richard Laugesen (chair)
  • Partha Dey
  • Nathan Dunfield
  • Iwan Duursma
  • Marius Junge
  • Sheldon Katz
  • Bruce Reznick
  • Sue Tolman

MathBio

  • Lee DeVille (chair)
  • Zoi Rapti
  • Vadim Zharnitsky
  • Sergei Maslov

Actuarial Science

  • Runhuan Feng (chair)
  • Xiaochen Jing
  • Frank Quan
  • Renming Song
  • Feng Liang

Hiring Committee for Mathematics Instructors

  • Ely Kerman (Chair)
  • Alison Champion 
  • Theresa Dobbs

Hiring Committee for ASRM Instructors

  • Vadim Zharnitsky(Chair)
  • Rich Sowers
  • Wei Wei

 

Other Appointments

  • Scott Ahlgren, LAS Learning Management Task Force Chair
  • Steve Bradlow, LAS General Education Committee
  • Jared Bronski, LAS Executive Committee
  • Burak Erdogan, LAS Awards Committee
  • William Haboush, LAS Faculty Appeals Committee
  • Marius Junge, Senate Budget Committee
  • Sheldon Katz, Special Advisor for the Altgeld/Illini Hall Renovation
  • Bruce Reznick, LAS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Working Group
  • Vera Hur, Liaison to the Beckman Institute, Institue for Genomic Biology, and Mathematical Sciences Research Institute
  • Richard Sowers, Liaison to the Grainger College of Engineering
  • Kay Kirkpatrick, Liaison to the Mathematics Library
  • Sergei Ivanov, Study Abroad
  • Daniel Berwick-Evans, Elections

Campus Academic Senate Representatives

  • Marius Junge (2021–23)
  • Rui Loja Fernandes (2021–23)
  • Renming Song (2021–23)

Exam Appointees

Comprehensive Exams

  • 500: Sankar Dutta, Iwan Duursma, Sergei Ivanov, Igor Mineyev
  • 511: Chris Dodd, William Haboush, James Pascaleff
  • 518: Ely Kerman Eugene Lerman, Rui Loja Fernandes
  • 525: Jeremiah Heller, Charles Rezk, Sue Tolman
  • 530: Jesse Thorner, Alexandru Zaharescu
  • 531: Scott Ahlgren, Kevin Ford
  • 540: Marius Junge, Denka Kutzarova, Xiaochun Li, Timur Oikhberg
  • 542: Florin Boca, Burak Erdogan, Aimo Hinkanen, Alex Tumanov
  • 550: Gabriele La Nave, Zoi Rapti, Vadim Zharnitsky
  • 553: Jared Bronski, Eduard Kirr
  • 561: Partha Dey, Renming Song
  • 563: Xiaochen Jing, Frank Quan
  • 580: Jozsef Balogh, Alexandr Kostochka

Putnam Exam Appointee: Timur Oikhberg

Proficiency Exam Appointee: Florin Boca