Congratulations to Mathematics PhD student Johnny (Jingze) Li on his selection for the 2026 Barbara and Paul Saltman Excellent Teaching Award for Graduate Students.  Johnny's research is in the emergent phenomenon of artificial and biological neural networks.  He has taught for both the Mathematics and Bioengineering departments in a wide variety of courses as TA and as Associate Instructor for lower-division Differential Equations.

Join us in congratulating Dimitri Dine, who has been awarded a Jane Street Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF)  for 2026-2027. Dimitri is one of nine recipients of the fellowship.

The Jane Street GRF is open to students in the U.S., Canada, UK, Europe, Australia, or New Zealand, and supports exceptional doctoral students currently pursuing a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science, mathematics, physics, or statistics. It is a highly selective award. 

Dimitri  is pursuing his Ph.D. in Mathematics at UC San Diego and is advised by Kiran Kedlaya. His research area is non-archimedean geometry, which studies questions at the intersection of algebraic geometry and algebraic number theory by using methods from nonarchimedean analysis. In his research, he seeks to establish new connections between algebraic and metric properties in nonarchimedean Banach rings, combining the points of view of nonarchimedean analysis and commutative algebra. On the geometric side, he studies foundational questions in the theory of adic spaces, such as their formal models. 

More information about the award may be found at https://www.janestreet.com/join-jane-street/programs-and-events/grf-profiles-2026/

We are pleased to announce that David Gao has been awarded the 2025-2026 Physical Sciences Dean's Graduate Award for Academic Excellence, a prestigious program established to support early-career scholars demonstrating exceptional research promise. 

The fellowship provides one-time funding to advance impactful research and help recipients accelerate their academic and professional growth.

Congratulations to PhD student Johnny (Jingze) Li for their selection as one of six UCSD graduate student scholars recognized for his exceptional contributions to undergraduate education.  Johnny served as a Summer Graduate Teaching Scholar in Summer 2025, teaching a lecture of Math 20D where he developed a studio-style course environment that incorporated project-based learning, inquiry-based pedagogy and concept maps.  Johnny is a PhD candidate working in the emergent phenomenon of artificial and biological neural networks under the direction of Professor Gabriel Silva in Bioengineering and Professor Bo Li in Mathematics.

We are pleased to announce that Kazutoshi Alexander Patrick Ko has been selected as this year’s recipient of the Julie D. Soo, MA '85 Master's Degree Scholarship.

This prestigious award, in the amount of $2,500, recognizes a master's degree student in the physical sciences or statistics who has demonstrated a commitment to applying analytical skills in the service of social responsibility and civic engagement.

Congratulations to Kazutoshi on this well-deserved honor!

The Graduate Awards Committee has selected the following four students for the 2024-25 TA Awards:

Vitor Borges - nominated by Anthony Sanchez

"He is responsible and mature and shows a genuine interest in his students. Vitor will have a long career not just as a research mathematician, but as a top-tier instructor."

Jiyoung Choi - nominated by Leesa Anzaldo and Jiawang Nie

"She carefully explained how definitions and theorems apply to problems and examples in a way that was understandable to students.  She is a highly accessible TA, as she promptly communicates in emails and made herself available to meet outside regular office hours."

Steve Huang - nominated by Alina Bucur

"He helped proofread the homeworks I assigned (not a trivial task for a course for which there is no textbook!), wrote solutions for both homework and quizzes (thus ensuring the grader's task was much easier), met with students who had fallen behind to help them catch up."

Max Johnson - nominated by Leesa Anzaldo

"They were passionate and energetic about writing meaningful worksheets and facilitating exams with academic integrity in mind. After working with him, Max even created a problem bank for future Math 18 TAs to use for writing worksheets"

Congratulations to Gabriela Hernandez (MSED PhD student) on being named a Grad SLAM 2025 Finalist! 

Out of 61 graduate students who entered this year’s competition, only 10 were selected as Finalists—and Gabriela’s outstanding research presentation earned her a spot among them!

UC San Diego’s Grad SLAM is a UC-wide competition that challenges grad students to communicate the significance of their research in just three minutes, using language accessible to a general audience. It’s all about sharpening public speaking skills, showcasing cutting-edge research, and celebrating the power of clear and compelling communication.

We’re so proud of Gabriela for representing our MSED community with excellence! 

Congratulations to the 2024-2025 Carol & George Lattimer Award for Graduate Excellence math major recipient, Sawyer Robertson!

Two of our remarkable PhD students have been selected for inclusion in the Student Spotlight section of the Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs website.  Lillian McPherson, a student in algebraic geometry with Elham Izadi and Sawyer Robertson, a student in applied graph theory with Alex Cloninger, were chosen to represent the Math department in this year's Spotlight.  Be sure to check out their profiles, and those of students from across the university, here.

The Mathematics department is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2023-24 TA Awards

• Soumya Ganguly - noted for the overall outstanding quality of his teaching and exceptional sense of responsibility, both inside and outside the classroom.
• JJ Garzella -  commended for his work ethic and leadership in Math 100A, and for his initiative and dedication in the organization of a reading course on commutative algebra
• Gregory Patchell - praised for his command over the course material in the Math 180 sequence and his ability to communicate ideas at any level of sophistication that is demanded from students.

Please join us in celebrating this year's awardees!