Renowned numerical analyst to head IMA

Douglas Arnold, Distinguished Professor of Mathematics at Pennsylvania

State University, has been named to head the Institute for Mathematics

and Its Applications (IMA). He succeeds Professor Willard Miller,

who stepped down after four years as director.

Arnold's research focuses on numerical analysis, with an emphasis

on partial differential equations, particularly those dealing with

mechanics. At Penn State he was co-director of the Center for Computational

Mathematics and Applications, associate director of the Institute

for High Performance Computing Applications, and a member of the

Center for Gravitational Physics and Geometry. He was in residence

at the IMA twice during the past 15 years.

"Arnold is a world-class numerical analyst who is well-known worldwide,"

says School of Mathematics head Naresh Jain. "It was a real coup

to bring him here." Arnold's wife, Maria-Carme Calderer, whose research

interests include mathematical studies of liquid crystals, will

also join IT's math faculty.

Established by the National Science Foundation in 1982, the IMA

strives to close the gap between theory and applications of mathematics

by fostering collaborations between academic mathematicians and

industry.