Respected Math Scholar to Lead Department

Dr. Wieslaw Krawcewicz, a professor of mathematics at the University of Alberta, has joined UT Dallas as head of the Department of Mathematical Sciences.

“We are fortunate in attracting an innovator in mathematics education and a respected scholar to lead the Department of Mathematical Sciences, a crucial part of UT Dallas’ strategic drive to become a major research university,” said Myron Salamon, dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

In searching for a new department head, the dean sought an experienced educator with a multidisciplinary research emphasis and a vision for the future of the department. Krawcewicz is charged with maintaining strong undergraduate and graduate degree programs in mathematics, applied mathematics, statistics and bioinformatics and computational biology.  Under his leadership, M.S. and Ph.D. degree programs in actuarial mathematics and biostatistics are expected to be added.

Krawcewicz’s goals for the department include facilitating national and international exchange and collaboration, supporting new, innovative teaching techniques and electronic learning, and promoting mathematical sciences at the University and in surrounding communities.  He plans to foster a warm, welcoming environment for researchers, teachers and students.  In addition, he plans to increase the number of postdoctoral positions in the department.

“Joining the faculty of The University of Texas at Dallas means I am now an important part of one of the U.S.’s most rapidly growing universities,” Krawcewicz said.  “Being a department chair is an honor and is, furthermore, one of the most exciting moments of my life.  I am proud to join a wonderful team of creative, passionate and highly qualified people, and to work with them to transform the University into one of the foremost institutions in the country.”

Krawcewicz has authored more than 50 research papers.  He obtained his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Montreal in 1985 and completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the University Catholique de Louvain in Belgium. His expertise is in topological equivariant nonlinear analysis — an interdisciplinary branch of mathematics with various applications to physics, chemistry, mathematical biology, engineering and medicine.

Among his accomplishments, Krawcewicz has earned several Alexander von Humboldt Fellowships at the Universities of Wuerzbürg and the University of Münich. The Humboldt was created to promote academic cooperation between scientists and scholars from abroad, including from Germany. He also earned the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences Education Prize in 2001 and the Alberta Science and Technology (ASTech) Excellence in Science and Technology Public Awareness Prize in 2002.

Krawcewicz succeeds Dr. Larry Ammann, who has been the interim head of Mathematical Sciences since August 2008.

Krawcewicz is a native of Poland. His outside activities include serving as editor of Pi in the Sky: High School Mathematics Magazine, a publication of the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences.  He also is a cartoon artist and history aficionado.

“Although I am saddened at leaving all my friends and colleagues in Edmonton at the University of Alberta, I am excited about joining UT Dallas,” Krawcewicz said.  “I have already found that Texans are warm, friendly and open; I feel accepted and welcome.  I look forward to taking up my position as chair and to tremendously rewarding semesters in the future.”