Mathematician Defies Tradition

As an assistant professor of mathematics at the University of Virginia, Irina Mitrea is interested in solving a wide variety of problems, though not in a conventional manner. 

Mitrea won a Fund for Excellence in Science and Technology (FEST) Distinguished Young Investigator Grant in 2005 for her work to develop scientific computing techniques in harmonic analysis and partial differential equations.  The FEST program is administered through the Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies and aims to reward faculty in their first three years at U.Va. with funding for their pioneering research proposals.  The idea behind this grant program is to support promising faculty in their early endeavors, thus enhancing their research capabilities and making them more competitive for future, external funding.

Mitrea utilized the FEST funding for national and international travel that allowed her to strengthen some of her research collaborations.  For example, she traveled to Sweden to complete a project with a colleague from Uppsala University last fall.  According to Mitrea, this research involves the use of “A blend of classical techniques and computer-aided proofs” to solve problems which arise in engineering and to model physical phenomena.  The method Mitrea and her colleague developed is allowing her to “solve boundary value problems in domains that have irregular boundaries, such as corners, cracks and edges” she says.  “In the scenario where boundaries are nice and smooth, the mathematical theory is very well developed and a lot is known” explains Mitrea.  Yet most objects in real life have irregular boundaries, “Mathematical theory is not yet sufficiently developed to understand solving partial differential equations on such non-smooth domains” she asserts.  Indeed, her findings will have a wide variety of practical applications, for example, a better ability to solve problems of heat diffusion and elasticity.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has just awarded Mitrea a $400,000 Career Grant that will support a blend of research and teaching activities over the next five years.  Among her plans is a continuation of her research on partial differential equations and outreach activities to make mathematics as a field attractive to a larger audience.  “In the last few years, mathematics departments have had problems attracting undergraduates” she says, “But if we reach out to them, we can make mathematics more accessible.  It’s critical to show them that sure, it’s hard, but it’s also worthwhile doing it.”  She has a number of creative ideas for engaging students from the middle school through graduate level, including a mathematical modeling contest and a summer workshop that focuses on increasing girls’ math abilities. READ MORE.

Many of the activities Mitrea has planned focus on giving students role models.  Her mentor, Irena Lasiecka, professor of mathematics at U.Va, worked with her through the FEST application process and beyond.  Mitrea stresses the importance of this relationship, “Mentors have made a world of difference to me.”  Mitrea is carrying on this tradition as she serves as a model for students and uses some of her NSF funding to support graduate student research.

Mitrea believes that the FEST funding helped her to leverage the NSF grant “It allowed me the freedom to establish important collaborations.  I have a hard time imagining being able to travel and being able to talk mathematics in this way without it.”