The Center for Nonlinear Analysis (CNA), founded in 1991 in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University, is a center for research and training in applied mathematics supported by the National Science Foundation. The continued funding of the CNA from the RTG program will allow it to recruit strong US graduate students and postdocs and expose them to the wealth of expertise in nonlinear analysis, computation, and interdisciplinary activity that exists across Carnegie Mellon research units. The goals of the CNA include: -- To identify cutting-edge mathematical questions in science and engineering, including materials science and biotechnology, to highlight emerging and new areas in mathematics deriving from applications, and to develop new applications of mathematical sciences; -- To maintain and sustain its leadership in the areas of Calculus of Variations and PDEs; -- To promote collaborations between applied mathematicians and allied scientists; -- To continue to develop international partnerships and cooperation agreements, which play a vital part in the CNA program and in the enhancement of the scientific training and research activities of the Center; -- To maintain its position as a worldwide asset in the education of young investigators cognizant of research opportunities at the broad interface between mathematics and physical sciences and engineering; -- To continue the valuable work of the Summer Undergraduate Applied Mathematics Institute (SUAMI), which targets minorities and women with the goal of recruiting them to pursue graduate study in applied mathematics.
Over the past 15 years the CNA has trained more than 52 postdoctoral fellows. The CNA is very proud of its trainees: Several former CNA postdocs are now scientific leaders in their own right at research institutions in the US and abroad, and many others are ripe to assume leadership roles in the near future. The imprint of the CNA in the mathematical and scientific community is large and growing. The collaborations of CNA members with experimentalists, theorists, physical scientists, and bioscientists, render this group one of the strongest research and training groups in applied mathematics in the US and in the world. Investigators associated with the CNA have been in the front ranks in integrating the discovery of new mathematics and mathematical ways of understanding with other modes of scientific investigation, particularly in materials science. The aim is to develop first-rate mathematical science in ways that have a healthy and exciting relation to emerging areas of importance in the physical and biological sciences.
Intellectual merit: The Center for Nonlinear Analysis (CNA), founded in 1991 in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University, is an internationally recognized center for research and training in applied mathematics. This RTG award to the Center in suport of its mission permitted its faculty to achieve fundamental advances across the spectrum of applied mathematics and several of its sister disciplines. The research deepened our knowledge of the calculus of variations, nonlinear partial differential equations, and scientific computation. Collaboration with sister disciplines included in particular projects with materials science, mechanics, and computer science. These activities are international in scope. Broader impact: The RTG group dedicated significant effort to the recruitment, education and mentoring of young researchers, unveiling opportunities for discovery of significant new mathematics and for potential areas of application. Supervision of PhD students and mentoring of post-doctoral fellows is a major function of the Center for Nonlinear Analysis. In addition to the active recruitment program noted above, the CNA funds additional postdocs and students from sources beyond the RTG. A characteristic of the CNA is that students and postdocs are intensely mentored and offered participation in current research projects of RTG faculty. CNA activities include special advanced courses and working groups, both of which offer opportunities for active student and postdoc participation. Some of the courses are recorded and may be accessed through the CNA website. In addition, the Center sponsors a seminar series, featuring internationally recognized mathematical scientists. It is recorded and may be accessed from the CNA website. Special seminars on curriculum development and grant writing are offered to postdocs and junior faculty.
