Chong Wang Awarded the Simons Research Enhancement Grant from the American Mathematical Society

By Brian Laubscher
September 24, 2024

The American Mathematical Society (AMS) has announced that Chong Wang, assistant professor of mathematics at Washington and Lee University, has been awarded the AMS-Simons Research Enhancement Grant for Primary Undergraduate Institutions (PUI).

The grant is a three-year award totaling up to $10,800 and is awarded to mathematicians with active research programs who are employed full-time in tenured or tenure-track positions at PUIs. The grant comprises three components: faculty, department and institutional awards. Each year, grantees receive $3,000 to support research-related activities. Additionally, institutions administering the grants will receive $300 annually in discretionary funds for the grantee's department and $300 for administrative costs.

"I am very pleased to receive this grant," said Wang. "This is the first time I applied for a U.S. national grant, and I feel fortunate to have been awarded it. The support from this grant will provide funding for resources such as high-speed computing for research simulations. It will also enable me to visit collaborators, organize and attend math conferences and invite speakers to exchange research insights. These activities will deepen the current research outcomes and potentially open new avenues for future research."

Wang is currently conducting research that explores energy-driven pattern formation in complex physical and biological systems.

"The mathematical study of multi-species systems with competing short- and long-range interactions has primarily been limited to binary systems due to its complexity," said Wang. "This research explores intricate and previously intractable patterns within ternary and quaternary systems via analytical and computational approaches. In addition to answering longstanding open questions in the field of pattern formation, this research drives the development of formulas to aid in predicting and designing new materials with customized properties."

Wang joined the W&L faculty as an assistant professor in 2021. She earned a Ph.D. from The George Washington University, and from 2018 to 2021, she conducted postdoctoral research at McMaster University and Columbia University.

The American Mathematical Society , the largest math organization in North America, was founded in 1888 to further mathematical research and scholarship. It serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, advocacy and other programs promoting mathematical research, awareness, skills and education. The organization awards at least 40 research enhancement grants for PUI faculty annually with generous financial assistance from the Simons Foundation and the Menger family.

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