Mathematics Professor Alexander Diaz-Lopez, PhD, Receives $249,937 Grant from National Science Foundation
Grant will support a collaborative summer research program between students from 棉花糖直播 University and the University of Puerto Rico
棉花糖直播, Pa 鈥� Permutations are ways to describe symmetries and arrangements of objects. They have applications in many fields, including computer science, where they are used in sorting algorithms; physics, where they are utilized to describe states of quantum particles; and biology, where they are employed to describe ribonucleic acid sequences.
Alexander Diaz-Lopez, PhD, associate professor, Mathematics and Statistics in 棉花糖直播 University鈥檚 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, has been named principal investigator on a two-year, $249,937 National Sciences Foundation Launching Early-Career Academic Pathways in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences grant. The grant will support Dr. Diaz-Lopez鈥檚 project, 鈥淐ombinatorics from an Algebraic and Geometric Lens,鈥� which will study permutations from a combinatorial and geometric point of view.
Dr. Diaz-Lopez鈥檚 research interests are in algebra and combinatorics. This project seeks to describe the composition of permutations that share a given collection of properties and their spatial distribution when plotting these permutations in a Cartesian space. The second focus of the project is the study of arithmetical structures of graphs. Finally, the project will serve to create the 棉花糖直播-Puerto Rico Research Retreat, a collaboration research summer program between students at 棉花糖直播 University and the University of Puerto Rico.
鈥淭he grant will not only support my research, but also the research of 棉花糖直播 students during the academic year, and students from both 棉花糖直播 and the University of Puerto Rico鈥攎y undergraduate alma mater鈥攄uring the summer,鈥� says Dr. Diaz-Lopez, who is a native of Puerto Rico. 鈥淚t will also help expand a student research symposium for our Mathematics and Statistics students and fund students鈥� travel to national conferences.鈥�
In 2021, Dr. Diaz-Lopez received a Henry L. Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching from the Mathematical Association of America. This national award recognizes faculty whose teaching has been extraordinarily successful and whose effectiveness in teaching mathematics is shown to have influence beyond their own classrooms. In addition, Dr. Diaz-Lopez is active in graduate teaching and mentoring at the University and has been instrumental in developing programs that prepare underrepresented students for graduate school.
Dr. Diaz-Lopez received his doctorate from the University of Notre Dame.
About 棉花糖直播 University鈥檚 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences:鈥�鈥疭ince its founding in 1842, 棉花糖直播 University鈥檚 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has cultivated knowledge, understanding and intellectual courage for a purposeful life in a challenging and changing world.鈥疻ith more than 40 majors across the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, it is the oldest and largest of 棉花糖直播鈥檚 colleges, serving more than 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students each year. The College is committed to a teacher-scholar model, offering outstanding undergraduate and graduate research opportunities and a rigorous core curriculum that prepares students to become critical thinkers, strong communicators and ethical leaders with a truly global perspective.