About the Department of Mathematics
The Mathematics Department at MIT is a world leader in pure and applied mathematical research and education. In pure mathematics we explore exciting current research directions in most of the major fields. In applied mathematics, we look for important connections with other disciplines that may inspire interesting and useful mathematics, and where innovative mathematical reasoning may lead to new insights and applications. Our applied math group focuses on biology, combinatorics, computer science, scientific computing, numerical analysis, and areas of physical applied mathematics.
In 1930, Dorothy Weeks was the first woman awarded a PhD in mathematics at MIT. Our first female CLE Moore instructor was Nancy Jane Kopell in 1967, and our first tenured professor was Michele Vergne, in 1978.
Awards
| Year | Recipient | Award |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Charlotte Kirchhoff-Lukat | MIT Mathematics Community Building Award |
| 2022 | Marisa Gaetz and Mary Stelow | MIT Mathematics Community Building Award |
| 2022 | Marisa Gaetz | George Lusztig PRIMES Mentorship |
| 2022 | Alexandra Hoey (honorable mention) | Alice T. Schafer Mathematics Prize, AWM |
| 2022 | (Carina) Letong Hong (winner) | Alice T. Schafer Mathematics Prize, AWM |
| 2022 | Lisa Sauermann | Alfred P Sloan Research Fellowship |
| 2022 | LIsa Sauermann | Edmund F. Kelly Research Award |
| 2022 | Adela Zhang | Graduate Appreciation Fellowship |
| 2021 | Korina Digalaki (honorable mention) | Alice T. Schafer Mathematics Prize, AWM |
| 2021 | Marisa Gaetz | MLK Leadership Award |
| 2021 | Vanshika Jain (honorable mention) | Alice T. Schafer Mathematics Prize, AWM |
| 2021 | Maggie Miller | Clay Research Fellowship |
| 2021 | Lisa Piccirillo | Clay Research Fellowship |
| 2021 | Lisa Piccirillo | Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship |
| 2021 | Lisa Piccirillo | Maryam Mirzakhani Frontiers Prize in Mathematics, Breakthrough Foundation |
| 2021 | Lisa Sauermann | European Prize in Combinatorics, Eurocomb |
| 2021 | Gigliola Staffilani | National Academy of Sciences Membership |
| 2021 | Ruoxuan Yang | Graduate Appreciation Fellowship |
| 2020 | Bonnie Berger | National Academy of Sciences Membership |
| 2020 | Marisa Gaetz (honorable mention) | Alice T. Schafer Mathematics Prize, AWM |
| 2020 | Ju-Lee Kim | Earll M. Murman Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising, MIT |
| 2020 | Gigliola Staffilani | Commitment to Caring Award (C2C), Office of Graduate Education |
| 2020 | Nike Sun | Wolfgang Doeblin Prize, Bernoulli Society for Mathematical Statistics and Probability |
| 2020 | Nike Sun | Best Paper Award, International Consortium of Chinese Mathematicians |
| 2019 | Bonnie Berger | ICSB (International Society for Computational Biology) Senior Scientist Award |
| 2019 | Kristin Kurianski | 2019 MIT Graduate Women of Excellence |
| 2019 | Danielle Wang (runner up) | Alice T. Schafer Mathematics Prize, AWM |
| 2019 | Lisa L. Yang (honorable mention) | Alice T. Schafer Mathematics Prize, AWM |
| 2018 | Gigliola Staffilani | Earll M. Murman Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising |
| 2018 | Jane Wang | Charles and Holly Housman Award for Excellence in Teaching, MIT |
| 2017 | Hilary Finucane | Early Independence Award, NIH |
| 2017 | Gweneth McKinley | Honoree, biennial celebration of Graduate Women of Excellence |
| 2017 | Dana Mendelson | AWM Mathematics Dissertation Prize |
| 2017 | Giulia Saccà | Anna Maria Molteni Award in Mathematics and Physics |
| 2017 | Gigliola Staffilani, Jennifer French, and Karene Chu | MITx Prize for Teaching and Learning in MOOCs |
| 2017 | Gigliola Staffilani | Guggenheim Fellowship |
| 2017 | Gigliola Staffilani | Simons Fellowship in Mathematics |
| 2016 | Bonnie Berger | American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) Fellowship |
| 2016 | Bonnie Berger | Simons Professorship |
| 2016 | Emmy Murphy | AWM-Joan & Joseph Birman Research Prize in Topology and Geometry |
| 2015 | Sheela Devadas (winner) | Alice T. Schafer Mathematics Prize, AWM |
| 2014 | Gigliola Staffilani | American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellowship |
| 2014 | Jessie Zhang (honorable mention) | Alice T. Schafer Mathematics Prize, AWM |
| 2013 | Yangzhou Hu (honorable mention) | Alice T. Schafer Mathematics Prize, AWM |
| 2013 | Ailsa Keating | Charles and Holly Housman Award for Excellence in Teaching, MIT |
| 2013 | Fan Wei | Frank and Brennie Morgan Prize, AMS/MAA/SIAM |
| 2012 | Bonnie Berger | American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellowship |
| 2012 | Alice Guionnet | Simons Foundation, Investigator |
| 2012 | Fan Wei (winner) | Alice T. Schafer Mathematics Prize, AWM |
| 2012 | Fan Wei | Jon A. Bucsela Prize, MIT |
| 2011 | Linan Chen | Charles and Holly Housman Award for Excellence in Teaching, MIT |
| 2011 | Melissa Gymrek | AMITA Senior Academic Award, MIT |
| 2011 | Maria Monks | Frank and Brennie Morgan Prize, AMS/MAA/SIAM |
| 2011 | Yinghui Wang and Fan Wei (honorable mentions) | Alice T. Schafer Mathematics Prize, AWM |
| 2010 | Alice Guionnet | The Silver Medal of CNRS |
| 2010 | Anette Hosoi | Margaret MacVicar Faculty Fellow, MIT |
| 2010 | Maria Monks (honorable mention) | Frank and Brennie Morgan Prize, AMS/MAA/SIAM |
| 2010 | Charmaine Sia | AMITA Senior Academic Award, MIT |
| 2010 | Charmaine Sia (co-winner) | Alice T. Schafer Mathematics Prize, AWM |
| 2010 | Yinghui Wang | Elizabeth Lowell Putnam Prize, MAA |
| 2010 | Katrin Wehrheim | Presidential Early Career Award for Scientist and Engineers (PECASE) |
| 2009 | Alice Guionnet | The Loeve Prize |
| 2009 | Maria Monks (winner) and Doris Dobi (honorable mention) | Alice T. Schafer Mathematics Prize, AWM |
| 2009 | Maria Monks | Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship |
| 2009 | Angelica Osorno | Charles and Holly Housman Award for Excellence in Teaching, MIT |
| 2009 | Gigliola Staffilani | Radcliffe Institute Fellowship, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard |
| 2009 | Katrin Wehrheim | Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award, NSF |
| 2008 | Galyna Dobrovolska (co-winner) | Alice T. Schafer Mathematics Prize, AWM |
| 2008 | Galyna Dobrovolska | Jon A. Bucsela Prize, MIT |
| 2008 | Marketa Havlícková | Clay Mathematics Institute Liftoff Fellowship |
| 2008 | Ting Xue | Charles W. and Jennifer C. Johnson Prize, MIT |
| 2007 | Yaim Cooper (runner-up) | Alice T. Schafer Mathematics Prize, AWM |
| 2007 | Yaim Cooper | AMITA Senior Academic Award, MIT |
| 2007 | Teena Gerhardt | Charles and Holly Housman Award for Excellence in Teaching, MIT |
| 2007 | Silvia Montarani | Charles W. and Jennifer C. Johnson Prize, MIT |
| 2007 | Katrin Wehrheim | Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship |
| 2006 | Alice Chan, Christina Goddard | Charles and Holly Housman Award for Excellence in Teaching, MIT |
| 2006 | Fu Liu | Charles W. and Jennifer C. Johnson Prize, MIT |
| 2006 | Fu Liu | Clay Mathematics Institute Liftoff Fellowship |
| 2005 | Karola Meszaros | AMITA Senior Academic Award, MIT |
| 2005 | Karola Meszaros | Jon A. Bucsela Prize, MIT |
| 2005 | Bianca Santoro | Charles and Holly Housman Award for Excellence in Teaching, MIT |
| 2004 | Bonnie Berger | Association for Computer Machinery, Fellow |
| 2004 | Karola Mészáros (runner-up) | Alice T. Schafer Mathematics Prize, AWM |
| 2004 | Lauren Willaims | Charles W. and Jennifer C. Johnson Prize, MIT |
| 2000 | Gigliola Staffilani | Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship |
| 1999 | Bonnie Berger | Top 100 Innovators under 35, Technology Review |
| 1997 | Bonnie Berger | Margaret Oakley Dayhoff Award, Biophysical Society |
| 1995 | Bonnie Berger | Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award, NSF |
| 1995 | Ruth Britto-Pacumio (winner) | Alice T. Schafer Mathematics Prize, AWM |
| 1995 | Ruth Britto-Pacumio | Elizabeth Lowell Putnam Prize, MAA |
In Remembrance
Cathleen Morawetz
1923 – 2017
Master and postdoc at MIT
Marina Ratner
1939 – 2017
Maryam Mirzakhani
1977 – 2017