Giles Auchmuty, University of Houston professor of mathematics, is temporarily stepping out of the classroom and into a new role with the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Arlington, Va.
Auchmuty has been appointed to the position of Program Manager in NSF’s Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS). For two years, he will administer grants to researchers and mathematicians working in the area of partial differential equations.
“This position provides a great overview of mathematical research in the United States,” Auchmuty said. “Mathematics research and education is changing quite rapidly these days. Scientists and engineers are finding that they need quite specialized new mathematics to help solve their problems or develop good computer programs, and mathematicians are developing the requisite theories.”
Auchmuty plans to return to UH to continue teaching mathematics following his NSF assignment. He's taught at UH for 22 years and has held visiting positions at institutions such as the University of Oxford and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J. His research interests center on bifurcation theory and the calculus of variations, especially the study of the solutions of Maxwell's equations for electromagnetic fields.
Auchmuty joins UH faculty members such as Paul C.W. Chu, professor of physics and T.L.L. Temple Chair of Science, and Donald Elthon, professor of chemistry, who previously have accepted NSF positions.
NSF is an independent federal agency dedicated to the promotion and advancement of science, health, and national security. With an annual budget of about $5.5 billion, NSF funds approximately 20 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by American colleges and universities.
