December 17, 2015 [TORONTO] Dr. Huaxiong Huang has been named the new Deputy Director of the Fields Institute, after a search that began in the summer of 2015. 

Candidates for the position were encouraged to apply from all over the country, as well as internationally. The large number of applications received was then reviewed by a search committee chaired by Dr. Kim McAuley, a member of the Institute’s Board of Directors. The committee was amazed at the interest that was generated by the posting of this position and the support received from the mathematical community. 

Dr. Huang brings over 20 years of experience both in research and teaching in mathematics as well as strong connections to industry and commercial initiatives to this position. He is a much-recognized face in the applied mathematics community in Canada with strong international connections. 

Since August 2014 Dr. Huang has leading the Fields-NSERC Institute Innovation Platform program as the Institute’s Associate Director for Industrial Liaison. Under this initiative Dr. Huang developed and administered programs that sought to strengthen interconnections between industry and the work that mathematicians at the Institute are involved in pursuing.  Dr. Huang hopes that with his appointment as Deputy Director he can further the recognition of the importance of the application of mathematical research.

“I am excited for this opportunity, because I think that as a world class research centre, the Fields Institute is an ideal place for developing innovative programs to advance mathematical research over the entire spectrum, from the most basic research to the most applied programs,” said Dr. Huang. 

Dr. Huang replaces Dr. Matheus Grasselli, who during his term as Deputy Director (January 2012 to June 2016) oversaw the expansion of many of the programs of the Institute, as well as developing several programs in financial mathematics. These programs have formed some of the foundation of the Centre for Financial Industries, an initiative that will help maintain the status of the Institute on the world stage. Dr. Grasselli will be returning to a full-time position as a professor of Mathematics at McMaster University.

Dr. Huang joins Dr. Ian Hambleton, the Director of the Institute, in heading a team of 15 staff members committed to promote mathematics to the public and the scientific community and to bring the Institute’s world-class research programs to a new level. His tenure as the new Deputy Director will commence on July 1st, 2016. The Institute will begin a search for the position of Associate Director for Industrial Liaison early in 2016. 

About Dr. Huaxiong Huang
Dr. Huang was trained as an applied mathematician. He received his PhD in Mathematics in 1992 from the University of British Colombia, obtaining his postdoctoral training at Johns Hopkins and Simon Fraser Universities. While at the Fields Institute he remains a professor at York University, where he has been teaching in the Mathematics Department since 1999. His credentials and research interests make him a perfect fit for this role. He maintains an active professional life within the mathematics field, editing several journals related to his interests in Mathematical Modelling and Scientific Computing, Financial and Industrial Mathematics, Biomathematics, and Fluid Mechanics.

About the Fields Institute
Founded in 1992, the Fields Institute is a leading international research centre located on the campus of the University of Toronto.

The mission of the Institute is to enhance mathematical activity in Canada by bringing together mathematicians from Canada and abroad, and by promoting contact and collaboration between professional mathematicians and the increasing numbers of users of mathematics. Thus the Institute supports research in pure and applied mathematics, statistics and computer science, as well as collaboration between mathematicians and those applying mathematics in areas such as engineering, the physical and biological sciences, medicine, economics and finance, telecommunications and information systems.

Every year, its programs attract more than 4000 participants from around the world. The Institute is supported by the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the National Science Foundation (US), and a growing list of partner universities and corporations in Canada, the United States, and Europe.

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