Four members of the mathematics faculty in the University of Virginia’s College of Arts & Sciences have been selected for the American Mathematical Society’s inaugural fellowship class. Professors Ira Herbst, Craig Huneke, Karen Parshall and Brian Parshall, are among 1,119 fellows who represent more than 600 institutions worldwide. 

Also included are two U.Va. professors emeriti, Loren Pitt and Leonard Scott.

The designation recognizes members who have made outstanding contributions to the creation, exposition, advancement, communication and use of mathematics. Among the goals of the program are to create a large class of mathematicians recognized by their peers for their distinguished contributions to the profession.

U.Va.’s math department comprises 27 faculty members, three postdoctoral instructors, nearly a dozen lecturers and visitors, 54 graduate students and about 185 undergraduate majors. Courses are taught in a variety of mathematical areas, and research is done in more than a dozen diverse fields.

“The American Mathematical Society is the world’s largest and most influential society dedicated to mathematical research, scholarship and education,” society president Eric M. Friedlander said. “Recent advances in mathematics include solutions to age-old problems and key applications useful for society. The new AMS Fellows Program recognizes some of the most accomplished mathematicians: members who have contributed to our understanding of deep and important mathematical questions, to applications throughout the scientific world and to educational excellence.”

Founded in 1888 to further mathematical research and scholarship, the 30,000-member American Mathematical Society fulfills its mission through programs and services that promote mathematical research and its uses, strengthen mathematical education and foster awareness and appreciation of mathematics and its connections to other disciplines and everyday life.

The fellows will be officially inducted in January at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in San Diego. For a full list of the fellows and description of the program, click here.