CUNY Newswire

March 1, 2010 | Lehman College

Mathematics and Computer Science Professor Jason Behrstock accepting the 2009 Feliks Gross Endowment Award.

BRONX, N.Y. — Lehman College Mathematics and Computer Science Professor Jason Behrstock has been awarded a prestigious Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, joining early-career scientists, mathematicians and economists from 56 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. These fellowships are awarded yearly to 118 researchers in recognition of distinguished performance and a unique potential to make substantial contributions to their field.

Established in 1955, the Fellowship provides recipients with $50,000 for a two-year period to support their research at the frontiers of physics, chemistry, computational and evolutionary molecular biology, computer science, economics, mathematics, and neuroscience. Past fellows have gone on to receive such awards as the Nobel Prize, the National Medal of Science and the Fields Medal, the top honor in mathematics.

“This is one of the most prestigious awards to be given to young mathematicians,” said Lehman Mathematics and Computer Science Chair Dr. Robert Feinerman. “It is a fitting recognition of Prof. Behrstock’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of his scholarship through serious research and a dedication to the discipline of mathematics.”

Other Lehman math faculty have previously won the award, including Prof. John Smillie, now at Cornell University, and current Profs. Michael Handel and Nicholas Hanges, who received the fellowship prior to joining Lehman.

An expert on geometric group theory and low-dimensional topology, Professor Behrstock has been honored with the Feliks Gross Endowment Award from the City University of New York and the Dorothy Pieper Merit Award from SUNY for Outstanding Entering Doctoral Studies. His research has been widely published in scholarly publications, including Annals of Mathematics, Geometry and Topology and Duke Mathematical Journal, and he has received a number of grants from the National Science Foundation. Before coming to Lehman in 2008, he taught at Columbia University and the University of Utah.

A senior college of the City University of New York, Lehman enrolls more than 12,000 students and offers over 100 undergraduate and graduate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education and other professional areas.

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is a philanthropic, not-for-profit grantmaking institution that supports original research and broad-based education in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and economic performance.

Contact: Keisha-Gaye Anderson / 718-960-8013