Named Postdoctoral Fellows

Byrne Postdocs

The Byrne Postdoctoral Fellows were established as part of the Byrne Fund for Financial Mathematics and Risk Management. The fund was created to honor John J. (Jack) Byrne, through a donation by his wife Dorothy. Jack Byrne received a Masters of Actuarial Science from the UM Mathematics Department in 1959. He was a student and good friend of long-time actuarial program director Professor Cecil Nesbitt. Byrne had a long and distinguished career in the industry, including serving as Chairman and Chief Executive of GEICO for many years, head of Fireman's Fund Insurance, and founder of White Mountains Insurance Group. Jack passed away in 2013, and Dorothy is still actively supporting this cause.

2023-2024

Ali Kara
Financial and Actuarial Mathematics
Education/Degree:
Ph.D., Queen’s University (2021)
M.Sc., Queen’s University (2017)
B.Sc., Bilkent University (2016)

Donghan Kim
Financial and Actuarial Mathematics
Education/Degree:
Ph.D., Columbia University (2020)
M.Phil., Columbia University (2018)
M.A., Columbia University (2011)

Donald J. Lewis Postdocs

Donald J. Lewis was a UM Mathematics faculty member from 1961 until retirement in 2000. He served as chair of the Mathematics Department from 1984-1994. During his tenure as chair, he was instrumental in developing and expanding the department's postdoctoral faculty program. Don and his wife, Carolyn Dana Lewis, established funding for these postdoc positions through direct gifts and a bequest. Both have passed away--Don in 2015 and Carolyn in 2019.

2023-2024 (current)

Jonathan Husson
Probability Theory
Education/Degree:
Ph.D., École normale supérieure de Lyon (2019)
B.S., École normale supérieure de Lyon (2013)
Xiao Ma
Analysis
Education/Degree:
Ph.D., Princeton University (2023)
B.S., University of Science and Technology of China (2018)

Elad Zelingher
Number Theory
Education/Degree:
Ph.D., Yale University (2022)

IBL Research Assistant Professor

Anand Parekh established the Parekh Family fund to provide support to various initiatives with the Department of Mathematics. This fund supports IBL Research Assistant Professors, who are specifically chosen and trained to teach in the Inquiry Based Learning program. Anand is a 1994 UM graduate, with a dual degree in English and Mathematics. In 2008 he founded Alyeska Investment Group in Chicago. In 2019, his company had more than $9 billion in assets under their management.

2024-present

Andrew Sack

Combinatorics

Education/Degree:

Ph.D., UCLA (2024)
M.A., UCLA (2022)
B.S., University of Florida (2019)

2022-2023

Nate Harman

Algebra and Algebraic Geometry

Education/Degree:

Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2017)

B.S., University of Massachusetts (2012)

James Van Loo Postdocs

In 2014, the Department of Mathematics received a gift from the estate of alumnus James Van Loo (BS 1967) that supports various initiatives in the area of Applied Mathematics, including the Van Loo Postdoctoral Fellowships. Mr. Van Loo began his career at General Electric in Florida, where he worked on high performance graphics. He joined Sun Microsystems in 1985 as a software engineer in internet standards and graphics, and eventually retired from Microsoft in 2009, where he worked on internet standards. Mr. Van Loo was an innovator in the field, and held several patents related to computer graphics and internet standards.

2023-2024

Philip Arathoon
Analysis
Education/Degree:
Ph.D., University of Manchester (2019)
M.Phil., University of Manchester (2015)
M.Math., University of Cambridge (2014)
B.A., University of Cambridge, Trinity Hall (2013)

Elliot Blackstone
Applied Mathematics
Education/Degree:
Ph.D., University of Central Florida (2019)
M.S., Univeristy of Central Florida (2014)
B.S., Penn State (2011)
Nick Geiser
Applied Mathematics
Education/Degree:
Ph.D., UCLA (2023)
M.S., UCLA (2018)
B.S., Fordham University (2017)

Dae Wook Kim
Applied Mathematics
Education/Degree:
Ph.D., Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (2021)
B.S., Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (2016)

National Science Foundation Postdocs

The purpose of the Mathematical Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (MSPRF) is to support future leaders in mathematics and statistics by facilitating their participation in postdoctoral research environments that will have maximal impact on their future scientific development. There are two options for awardees: Research Fellowship and Research Instructorship. Awards will support research in areas of mathematics and statistics, including applications to other disciplines.