KU Department of Mathematics announces 2026 spring awards

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Department of Mathematics recently recognized students and faculty for outstanding academic and teaching achievements. 

Graduate summer scholarships and research assistantships were awarded to 25 graduate students. Academic year 2026-27 scholarships were awarded to 77 undergraduates. Funds for the awards and scholarships are administered through the KU Endowment Association.

Other students and faculty were recognized for teaching and scholarly achievements.

The R.D. Brown Award for Undergraduate Excellence was given to Sam Grimsley, Overland Park, and Arnav Jain, Stilwell. This award was established in memory of Professor Robert Brown by gifts from his family and friends to provide awards for seniors majoring in mathematics who have demonstrated the most impressive overall achievement in the field of mathematics during their undergraduate career. Brown was a faculty member from 1963 to 2009 and served as associate chair and director of undergraduate studies.

Chris Wong received the Florence Black Award for Excellence in Teaching by a graduate student. The award was established in memory of Black, a faculty member who served from 1918 to 1960. Other finalists were Ryan Hunter, Lindsay Hyer, Chris Mayo and Aaron Ortiz.

Raneeta Dutta received the John Bunce Award. The Bunce award commemorates a KU math professor who served from 1970 to 1991 and his extraordinary concern for the welfare and intellectual development of graduate students.

Shivani Agarwal and Hunter each received the Paul F. Conrad Graduate Scholarship. This award is given in Conrad's memory to provide awards for deserving graduate students in mathematics. In 1981, Conrad was the first Henry J. Bischoff Professor of Mathematics at KU.

Jon Tremblay received the Ralph Byers Student Award. This award is presented to outstanding graduate students in numerical analysis in memory of Professor Ralph Byers. Byers was a faculty member in the department from 1987 to 2007.

Sreehari Suresh Babu, Sagnik Das, Faris El-Katri and Ming Wang each received the Charles J. and Mary Pat Himmelberg Graduate Student Award. The award is used to support graduate students with merit in the mathematics department. Charles Himmelberg was a faculty member of the department from 1959 to 2005 and served as chairman for more than 20 years.

Zhipeng Liu, associate professor of mathematics, received the G. Baley Price award for Excellence in Teaching, presented by the Mathematics Graduate Student Organization. This award is given to a faculty member who displays the greatest ability and effectiveness in teaching graduate math courses.

Reuven Hodges, assistant professor of mathematics, was presented with the Morrison Foundation Teaching Award. This award was established in 2008 by the Don and Pat Morrison Foundation to recognize outstanding teaching in mathematics.

Daniel Hernández, professor of mathematics, received the Max Wells Teaching Award in recognition of outstanding or exemplary teaching in the field of mathematics by a KU faculty member in mathematics.