Letter from the Chair

Dear alumni and friends,

It is a pleasure to share another year of exciting news from the Department of Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, and Statistics (MAMS) at Case Western Reserve University. This has been a year marked by outstanding faculty recognition, a vibrant intellectual community, engaging opportunities for our students, and continued growth of our department.

I am especially proud to begin by celebrating two prestigious honors received by our faculty. Professor Erkki Somersalo was named a 2026 Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), recognizing his distinguished contributions to applied mathematics and, in particular, his pioneering work in inverse problems and Bayesian computational methods. Professor Elisabeth Werner was selected as a 2026 Simons Fellow in Mathematics, another wonderful recognition of the international impact and excellence of our faculty. These honors reflect not only the remarkable accomplishments of our colleagues, but also the strength and visibility of mathematics and applied mathematics at CWRU.

Our department also continues to serve as an active gathering place for the broader mathematical community. This year, MAMS hosted the Winter 2026 Midwest Topology Seminar, a long-running conference series that has brought mathematicians together since the 1960s. The meeting brought researchers to CWRU for lectures and discussions in algebraic topology and provided our students and faculty with valuable opportunities for interaction and collaboration.

Student engagement remains at the heart of our mission. DataFest@CWRU continues to give undergraduate students an opportunity to move beyond the classroom and experience the excitement—and challenges—of working with real-world data. Students work collaboratively in teams to analyze a complex data set, develop insights, and communicate their findings to a panel of judges. Events such as DataFest exemplify the kind of experiential learning we value: combining mathematical and statistical knowledge with teamwork, creativity, problem-solving, and communication.

We are equally excited about the continued growth of our department. Following a highly successful recruitment effort, we are welcoming two tenure-track faculty members in pure mathematics. These appointments strengthen our research programs while also expanding our capacity to provide excellent instruction and mentoring to our growing undergraduate and graduate student populations. Recruiting outstanding colleagues across research and teaching is essential to the department’s long-term strength, and I am delighted with the exceptional people joining our MAMS community.

Taken together, these accomplishments tell an encouraging story about where MAMS is today and where we are headed. Our faculty are earning recognition at the highest levels of the profession; our department is bringing scholars together through workshops and conferences; our students are engaging in hands-on activities such as DataFest; and we continue to invest in talented new faculty and instructors who will help shape our future.

None of this would be possible without the dedication of our faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends. I am deeply grateful for the many ways you contribute to our community through your time, ideas, encouragement, and support. I hope you enjoy reading more about the people and activities that made this such a successful year for MAMS, and I look forward to another exciting year ahead.

Sincerely,

Weihong Guo
Chair, Department of Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, and Statistics
College of Arts and Sciences
Case Western Reserve University