Graduate School Bulletin

Facilities of the Mathematics Department

Since the beginning of the modern department under the leadership of Jim Simons, Stony Brook has been world-renowned as a center of research in geometry broadly interpreted. With the opening of the Institute for Mathematical Sciences, headed by its inaugural director John Milnor, dynamics emerged as an additional area of excellence. In more recent times, these traditional strengths have broadened, and the department now has multiple active research groups, numerous weekly seminars, and regularly organizes conferences, graduate schools, and other events.

The distinguished faculty of the mathematics department include 2 Abel prize winners, 2 Fields Medal laureates, 13 members of the National Academy of Science (Mathematics), 16 past speakers of International Congresses of Mathematicians, and recipients of multiple international awards. The current active research areas include algebra, dynamics, representation theory, complex analysis, algebraic geometry, geometric function theory, differential geometry, topology, geometric analysis, mathematical physics, symplectic geometry.

There are weekly research seminars in differential geometry, dynamics, algebraic geometry, topology, analysis and a departmental colloquium, as well as a graduate student seminar. 

Institute for Mathematical Science

The IMS is another active center of research, closely aligned with the mathematics department, and headed by its codirectors Mikhail Lyubich and John Milnor. Many of the research activities of the Institute are centered around dynamics. The Institute has an active post doctoral program, and weekly research and learning seminars in dynamics, broadly interpreted. IMS hosts many visitors and regularly organizes research events.

Simons Center for Geometry and Physics

The Simons Center for Geometry and Physics (SCGP), a major international research center located next door to the department has greatly enhanced the scientific life of the department since its opening in 2007. The mathematics faculty of the center also hold appointments and they supervise PhD students in the mathematics department. The center hosts 12 post-docs divided between mathematics and physics. It runs many international workshops in mathematics (not just geometry) and theoretical physics every year, attracting leading researchers from around the world: over 1000 scientists visit each year. In addition, the SCGP and the Math Department run a collaborative research and training program funded by the NSF. The abundant activities of the center are open to the community, the mathematics department, and graduate students are encouraged to attend the talks that are of relevance for their research.