Department of Mathematical Sciences at Kent State University

Dr. McVey, a former PhD student of Dr. Lewis, returned to campus on June 10 to give a talk for the REU and graduate students titled Math with a Security Clearance.

We are excited to welcome this summer’s REU students to the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Kent State University!

This year, ten undergraduate students from the University of Florida, the University of Maryland, Boston College, UC Santa Barbara, Pitzer College, Cornell University, Northwestern University, and Brown University will spend the summer at Kent State working on research projects with faculty mentors Dr. Mark Lewis, Dr. Peter Gordon, Dr. Fedja Nazarov, and Dr. Jenya Soprunova.

We are delighted to have them with us and look forward to a productive and inspiring summer of mathematical research.

Please join us in welcoming them to the department!

On May 15, 2026, the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Kent State University celebrated the retirement of Professor Nathan Ritchey, who concluded his distinguished career while actively serving as the Department Chair.

While Professor Ritchey may be retiring from his regular duties, he is not saying goodbye to the department entirely. He will continue his association with Kent State as an Emeritus Professor, a well-deserved recognition of his years of dedication, scholarship, and service.

Congratulations, Professor Ritchey, on your retirement and well-deserved appointment as Emeritus Professor. Thank you for your outstanding leadership and service to the department. We wish you happiness, good health, and many rewarding adventures in the years ahead.

We are pleased to announce that earlier today, Joshua Kane successfully defended his Ph.D. dissertation and has officially earned the title of Dr. Joshua Kane.

Josh's doctoral research focused on Randomized Block Krylov Methods under the joint supervision of Professor Dr. Lothar Reichel, and Dr. Lucas Onisk.

Congratulations, Dr. Kane! We wish you continued success in your future endeavors and hope that, unlike some numerical methods, all your future plans converge rapidly.

Well deserved, and well done!

A little late, but definitely worth celebrating!

On April 15, 2026, the faculty, staff, and graduate students of the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Kent State University came together for a wonderful potluck gathering. The event concluded with the recognition of several graduate students for their outstanding contributions to teaching.

This year's Teaching Awards were presented to:

Kazi Nur Uddin
Andrew Summer
Malak Lafi

Congratulations to all of you on this well-deserved recognition! Your dedication, hard work, and commitment to student success continue to make a positive impact on our department.

The 2026 Zassenhaus Groups and Friends Conference took place in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Kent State University on May 30–31, 2026.

The conference traces its origins to the mid-1960s, when it was founded by Professor Hans Zassenhaus. Since then, it has been held annually, bringing together researchers and scholars in group theory and related fields.

This year's conference was organized by an outstanding team led by Professor Mark L. Lewis, together with Professor Wil Cocke of Carnegie Mellon University, and Professors J. P. Cossey, Nguyen Hung, and Jeff Riedl of the University of Akron.

Congratulations to Dr. Auttawich Manu on his recent dissertation defense! Autt completed his dissertation, Geometric and Functional Inequalities in Convex Geometry, under the supervision of Drs. Matthieu Fradelizi and Artem Zvavitch.

Check out Darci Kracht's submission to the 52 weeks of cooking challenge! Here are the Cayley tables for S_3 and its subgroups.

Cucumber x salmon = prosciutto!

https://www.kent.edu/cas/news/carrying-forward-legacy

Carrying Forward a Legacy | College of Arts & Sciences, Department of Mathematical Sciences Mathematical Sciences Professor Jenya Soprunova, Ph.D., in the College of Arts and Sciences at Kent State University, has been named the inaugural