Qiang Du

FU FOUNDATION PROFESSOR OF APPLIED MATHEMATICS

535C S.W. Mudd
Mail Code 4701

Tel(212) 853-0689
Fax(212) 854-3054

Qiang Du leads the Computational Mathematics and Multiscale Modeling (CM3) group at Columbia. CM3 conducts research at the interface of mathematical, computational and data sciences through partnerships with experts from different fields. The work produced by the CM3 group often reflects integrated efforts that involve the creation of mathematical concepts, the derivation of effective models, the development of robust and scalable computational methods, and large scale numerical simulations on powerful supercomputers, as well as applications in diverse scientific and engineering disciplines.

Research Interests

mathematical modeling, numerical analysis, and scientific computation with selected applications in physical, biological, materials, data and information sciences.

Over the years, Qiang Du has developed mathematical models and computational algorithms for various complex and multiscale systems that include examples like quantized vortex states in superconductors and BECs, deformation of biological membranes,  critical nucleation and microstructure evolutions in materials phase transformation, and anomalous diffusion in heterogeneous environments. Recognition for Qiang Du’s work includes the Feng Kang prize in scientific computing (2005), the Eberly College of Science Medal (2007), SIAM (Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics) Outstanding Paper prize (2016), ACM Gordon Bell Prize finalist (2016), SIAM Review SIGEST Award (2020), an invited speaker of the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM 2018) and his selection as a 2013 SIAM Fellow and a 2020 AMS (American Mathematical Society) Fellow for contributions to the applied and computational mathematics with applications in materials science, computational geometry, and biology. In 2017, he was elected as a fellow of AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) for his distinguished contributions to the field of applied and computational mathematics, particularly for theoretical analysis and numerical simulations of mathematical models in various applications.

After graduating in mathematics in 1983 from the University of Science and Technology of China, Qiang Du was selected and recommended in 1984 by a special AMS-SIAM committee to pursue graduate studies in the US.  He later earned a Ph.D. in Mathematics (1988) from Carnegie Mellon University. He then worked as a Dickson Instructor at University of Chicago, after which he has held visiting and tenured faculty positions at various institutions. At Columbia, Qiang Du has served as the Chair of the Applied Mathematics Ph.D program (2014-2020). As a faculty affiliate of the Data Science Institute, he was also a co-Chair of the Center for Foundation of Data Science (2018-2019) and a co-Chair of Center of Computing Systems for Data-Driven Science (2019-). Qiang Du was most recently the Verne M. Willaman Professor of Mathematics and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Penn State University, before he joined Columbia in 2014.

 

Professional Experience

  • Chair of Applied Mathematics Program, 2014-2020
  • Fu Foundation Professor of Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, 2014-
  • Verne M. Willaman Professor of Mathematics, Penn State University, 2006-2014.
  • Professor of Materials Science an Engineering, Penn State University, 2005-2014
  • Professor of Mathematics, Penn State University, 2001-2016.

Honors & Awards

  • SIAM Review SIGEST Award 2020
  • Fellow, American Mathematical Society, 2020
  • Invited speaker of International Congress of Mathematicians, 2018
  • Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2017
  • ACM Gordon Bell Prize Finalist (2016), for the world’s largest extreme scale simulations using the most powerful supercomputer on earth
  • SIAM Outstanding Paper prize (2016) , for a paper published in SIAM J. Numerical Analysis  (coauthored with Ph.D student Xiaochuan TIan) on numerical methods for nonlocal models
  • Fellow, Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics, 2013
  • Feng Kang Prize in Scientific Computing, 2008