A novel high-speed, high-def hyperspectral video camera

A novel high-speed, high-def hyperspectral video camera


October 2, 2025
Above: Instead of a filter that divides light into three color channels, the University of Utah scientists have developed a diffractive element that divides it into 25.

A traditional digital camera splits an image into three channels — red, green and blue — mirroring how the human eye perceives color. But those are just three discrete points along a continuous spectrum of wavelengths. Specialized “spectral” cameras go further by sequentially capturing dozens, or even hundreds, of these divisions across the spectrum.

Rajesh Menon

This process is slow, however, meaning that hyperspectral cameras can only take still images, or videos with very low frame rates, or frames per second (fps). But what if a high-fps video camera could capture dozens of wavelengths at once, revealing details invisible to the naked eye?

Now, researchers at the University of Utah’s John and Marcia Price College of Engineering and College of Science have developed a new way of taking a high-definition snapshot that encodes spectral data into images, much like a traditional camera encodes color. Instead of a filter that divides light into three color channels, their specialized filter divides it into 25. Each pixel stores compressed spectral information along with its spatial information, which computer algorithms can later reconstruct into a “cube” of 25 separate images—each representing a distinct slice of the visible spectrum.

This instantaneous encoding enables the researchers’ camera system—small enough to fit into a cellphone—to take high-definition video, and the compressed nature of the component images opens up new real-world applications.

Fernando Guevara Vasquez

A study demonstrating the camera was led by research assistant professor Apratim Majumder and professor Rajesh Menon, both in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. Coauthors include Fernando Guevara Vasquez, a U professor of mathematics. Funded by the Office of Naval Research, this research was conducted in collaboration with the U tech startup Lumos Imaging, which Menon and Guevara Vasquez founded in 2015.

The results are reported in the journal Optica.

The camera’s design represents a leap forward in how spectral data can be captured.

“We introduce a compact camera that captures both color and fine spectral details in a single snapshot, producing a ‘spectral fingerprint’ for every pixel,” Menon said.

Hyperspectral cameras have long been used in agriculture, astronomy and medicine, where subtle differences in color can make a big difference. But these cameras have historically been bulky, expensive and limited to still images.

“When we started out on this research, our intention was to demonstrate a compact, fast, megapixel resolution hyperspectral camera, able to record highly compressed spatial-spectral information from scenes at video-rates, which did not exist,” Majumder said.

The U team’s breakthrough lies in how it captures and processes the data. The key component is a diffractive element that is placed directly over the camera’s sensor. It’s the element’s repeating nanoscale patterns that diffract incoming light and encodes both spatial and spectral information for each pixel on the sensor.  By encoding the scene into a single, compact two-dimensional image rather than a massive three-dimensional data cube, the camera makes hyperspectral imaging faster and more efficient.

“One of the primary advantages of our camera is its ability to capture the spatial-spectral information in a highly compressed two-dimensional image instead of a three-dimensional data cube and use sophisticated computer algorithms to extract the full data cube at a later point,” Majumder explained. “This allows for fast, highly compressed data capture.”

Instead of a filter that divides light into three color channels, the University of Utah engineers and mathematicians have developed a diffractive element that divides it into 25.

The researchers’ diffractive element contains a repeating pattern of nanoscale features.

Guevara Vasquez, of the Mathematics Department, modeled and designed the diffractive filter array and co-designed, with co-author Fernando Gonzalez del Cueto, the algorithm to reconstruct the hyperspectral images from the raw data captured by the sensor.

The camera’s streamlined approach also cuts costs dramatically.

“Our camera costs many times less, is very compact and captures data much faster than most available commercial hyperspectral cameras,” Majumder said. “We have also shown the ability to post-process the data as per the need of the application and implement different classifiers suited to different fields such as agriculture, astronomy and bio-imaging.”

Data storage is another advantage.

“Satellites would have trouble beaming down full image cubes, but since we extract the cubes in post-processing, the original files are much smaller,” Majumder added.

To demonstrate the camera’s capabilities, the researchers tried three real-world applications: telling different types of tissue apart in a surgical scene; predicting the age of strawberries as they decayed over time; and mimicking a series of spectral filters that are used in astronomy.

The current prototype takes images at just over one megapixel in size and can break them down into 25 separate wavelengths across the spectrum. But the team is already working on improvements.

“This work demonstrates a first snapshot megapixel hyperspectral camera,” Majumder said. “Next, we are developing a more improved version of the camera that will allow us to capture images at a larger image size and an increased number of wavelength channels, while also making the nano-structured diffractive element much simpler in design.”

By making hyperspectral imaging cheaper, faster and more compact, the U engineers have opened the door for technologies that could change the way we see the world and uncover details hidden across the spectrum.


The findings, titled “High-definition (HD) snapshot diffractive computational spectral imaging and inferencing,” were published Sept. 20 in the journal Optics. Coauthors include Monjurul Meem, Fernando Gonzalez del Cueto, Syed N. Qadri and Freddie Santiago. 

This story by Ethan Lerner originally appeared at the John & Marcia Price College of Engineering and on At the U.

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David Stroupe Named CSME Director

New Director of CSME David Stroupe


September 9, 2025
Above: David Stroupe

The University of Utah College of Science and College of Education have announced David Stroupe’s appointment as director of the Center for Science and Mathematics Education (CSME).

A program based in the College of Science, CSME works to enhance K-12 math and science instruction, undergraduate support and increase access that promotes success in science and mathematics for K-12 and undergraduate students.

Stroupe, interim associate dean for research and professor of educational psychology in the College of Education, will lead the center under this inter-college partnership, with a focus on improving graduation and job placement. The center also aims to support broader positive outcomes at the U and in classrooms across the state.  

Stroupe's appointment is enthusiastically and jointly supported by College of Science Interim Dean Pearl Sandick and Education Dean Frankie Santos Laanan.

"In partnership with the College of Education, I’m very happy to bring David Stroupe on board as Director of the Center for Science and Mathematics Education," said Sandick. "David’s leadership arrives at a pivotal moment, as STEM education undergoes rapid transformation to meet shifting societal demands and address the evolving technological landscape. I look forward to fruitful collaboration as we work together, with partners on campus and beyond, to promote student success in science and mathematics from K-12 through college."

“The CSME has long stood at the intersection of research, teaching, and public engagement—where ideas meet action,” said Dean Laanan. “Dr. Stroupe brings a mix of scholarly rigor and visionary leadership. His recent election as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science is a testament to his national impact in science education. The College of Education and the College of Science are poised to impact AI literacy across the state, and Dr. Stroupe’s appointment signals a bold step forward in how we prepare educators, empower instructors, and inspire the next generation of STEM learners across Utah.”

Stroupe will kick off his first CSME Exchange on September 22 with Rebekah Cummings, Digital Matters Director for the U, with a faculty presentation on AI in the classroom. 

To learn more about CSME, visit csme.utah.edu

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Harold Blum: Combinations and Connections

Harold Blum: Combinations and Connections


August 28, 2025
Above: Harold Blum

As any researcher will tell, the most daunting challenge of their field is often to find a strong connection between the hard work they do and the funding needed to make it happen.

It can be a difficult bridge to build, which is why the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) CAREER Program provides grants to talented individuals to elevate their efforts to new heights. Harold Blum is among these awardees, having secured $450,000 in funding to support his research.

This is not Blum’s first connection with the foundation. Under the mentorship of department chair Tommaso de Fernex, Blum held an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship here at the University of Utah. After continuing and finishing said fellowship at Stony Brook University, he circled back to take up an assistant professor position, where he worked for many years.Blum’s research focuses on algebraic geometry, specifically in the area of higher dimensional shapes. A particular aim of his that the grant is financing is to develop theory for constructing parameter spaces of Calabi-Yau manifolds, a concept used heavily in string theory. But that’s not to say all his work is 6th dimensional, as algebraic geometry has far-reaching applications. “One of the reasons I find this field so interesting is that it combines so many aspects of mathematics,” Blum explains, continuing that “modern algebraic geometry research involves inputs from mathematical physics, differential geometry and number theory. As well, algebraic geometry has been applied to areas including cryptography, computer vision, and optics.”

With such a varied combination of fields, a strong interconnected community is required to bring in the necessary expertise. Blum has been delighted to find that community at the U, celebrating it as “a hub for research in algebraic geometry since the 1980s.” He’s enjoyed these connections with the faculty, postdocs and graduate students that share in his field, as well as those with his students. The community of mathematics in general is something Blum views very fondly, as he’s “learned so much from all my collaborators, and it’s simply more exciting doing math with other people than it is doing it alone.”

Blum’s journey will be taking him away from the U to Georgia Tech at the end of this academic year, and while we’re sad to see him go we also applaud the fantastic work he did here and the awarding of his grant. 

And it’s not like his influence is gone. Those community connections will always hold strong, collaborative work will continue, and we eagerly await what new heights his research will take him next. ~Michael Jacobsen

by Michael Jacobsen

You can read about Harold Blum's colleague Anna Little who is also recipient of the prestigious NSF Career Award here.

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Celebrating Simons Fellows

Celebrating Simons Fellows


August 21, 2025
Above: Mladen Bestvina (left) and Yekaterina Yuryevna Epshteyn

The Department of Mathematics celebrates the recognition of two professors on achieving a Simons Fellowship: Mladen Bestvina and Yekaterina Yuryevna Epshteyn.

The Simons Fellows in Mathematics program, offered by the Simons Foundation, provides tenured faculty in mathematics with a monetary award to extend a sabbatical from one term to a full academic year for related research expenses. Fellows are expected to focus intensively on high-level theoretical research during this leave, using the extended time to make significant advances in their fields. To qualify, applicants must hold a tenured, primary mathematics department appointment, be eligible for sabbatical leave and have institutional approval for a year-long research leave.

Mladen Bestvina

Originally from Croatia, Mladen Bestvina earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Zagreb before completing a Ph.D. at the University of Tennessee in 1984. After beginning his academic career at UCLA, he joined the U in 1994. His research lies in topology, with a focus on geometric group theory—an area that explores algebraic structures through geometric and topological methods.

As a Simons Fellow, he values the honor and the opportunity to participate in programs at the Isaac Newton Institute in Cambridge and SLMath in Berkeley. Outside of mathematics, he enjoys biking, hiking, and playing chess.

 Yekaterina Yuryevna Epshteyn

“Katya” earned her undergraduate degree in applied mathematics and physics from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology in 2000 before immigrating to the United States as a refugee. She completed her Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Pittsburgh in 2007, followed by an NSF-RTG postdoctoral fellowship at Carnegie Mellon University.

Her current research focuses on two major areas: the development of mathematical and computational models for microstructure evolution in polycrystalline materials, and the design of robust, structure-preserving algorithms for hyperbolic balance laws and related systems with uncertainty. These efforts not only address fundamental mathematical challenges but also have wide-ranging applications in engineering and the physical sciences. This past May she helped organize and host the annual NSF CompMath meeting at the U. 

As a Simons Fellow, she is honored to receive support for her first sabbatical after 15 years at the U. The fellowship offers valuable opportunities for her including focused research, travel, collaboration with colleagues, and exploration of new directions. She is deeply grateful to her mentors, collaborators, and students. Beyond mathematics, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, engaging in outdoor activities, and exploring the arts.

An earlier version of this story by Izabella Bourland first appeared on math.utah.edu

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Anna Little: Above the Noise

Anna LIttle: Above the Noise


August 13, 2025
Above: Anna Little, awardee of the NSF Career Grant

In the constant chaotic communication of the modern day it is vitally important to find promising individuals and raise them above the noise. That is the role of the National Science Foundation’s CAREER program: to find talented researchers and give them funding to catapult their work to new heights.

Anna Little has earned her place amongst those recipients, which includes her colleague Harold Bloom, receiving a grant of $550,000 to advance to the next stage of her career.

A Duke University alumna, Little received her Ph.D. in mathematics there before moving on to a teaching position at Jacksonville University. In an ambitious gamble she left that tenure track position for a research postdoctoral researcher appointment at Michigan State, which clearly paid dividends by setting the groundwork for research she’s being rewarded for today here at the U. 

Little’s work focuses on using geometric methods for high-dimensional data analysis, a particularly useful subject. While current technology allows us to collect huge amounts of data, it is often difficult to analyze that data in numerical form. But analyzing it geometrically can circumvent this issue, visually presenting shapes and patterns amongst the chaos. It is an approach that can be applied to many forms of data, and as Little describes, it really helps break up the “noise.”

“If you’re trying to take a picture of a molecule, you’re going to have a lot of noise in that data,” Little explains, defining that “by noise I mean measurement errors, random shifts or rotations. You’re trying to extract data from a complicated setting.” Noise of this kind is often unavoidable and can start corrupting data, but that’s where the math comes in to repair those gaps. 

On top of this high dimensional analysis, Little is also interested in inverse problems and signal processing. In particular, the analysis of mathematical models inspired by biological applications such as cryo-electron microscopy.

While she isn’t looking for these patterns inside the noise, she often spends her time assisting others to take a break from their own noisy lives. In an initiative that was also supported by her award, she led a retreat for doctorate students and postdocs. In such a highly strenuous field like STEM it can be challenging to find time to take care of oneself, leading to unsustainable performance. Little explains that “It’s important to work smart, to avoid burning out, and to understand one’s limits.”

Whether it be the noise of her research or the noise of life, Anna Little is taking the steps to both overcome it and help others do the same. And thanks to this award she’ll be able to continue to do so for many years to come.

by Michael Jacobsen

Read about Harold Blum, Anna Little's colleague in the Department of Mathematics, who is also recipient of the prestigious NSF Career Award here.

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Humans of the U: Dalyana Guerra

Humans of the U: Dalyana Guerra


July 22, 2025
Above: Dalyanna Guerra

My grandma was a teacher, and my mom studied teaching, so I grew up surrounded by educators. In high school, Math was my favorite subject.

In college, I majored in pure math and was involved in teaching and research as an undergrad TA. After I graduated, I took a break from being a student and taught at a private high school in Syracuse, New York. The school didn’t require state exams, so we had academic freedom and could try different strategies. I connected well with experienced teachers, learned a lot, and had two creative years in the classroom.

After that, I returned to grad school in 2020 for a master’s degree in math, planning to pursue a PhD. I passed my prelims but I really missed teaching. So I stopped there and decided to pursue the classroom again. I knew teaching was my path, and although the pandemic made job hunting difficult, I eventually joined the University of Utah and I’m happy with where I landed.

In my own classes I use humor and welcome mistakes as learning opportunities. When a student offers an incorrect answer, I thank them and turn it into a teachable moment. That approach helps reduce anxiety around being wrong.

When students tell me they used to be afraid of math but now enjoy it, that’s incredibly rewarding. I know many people carry bad math experiences, but I believe hard work matters more than innate talent. If you’re willing to put in effort—you’ll succeed.

Teaching itself is performative: engaging students requires creativity and a willingness to embrace other parts of myself beyond math. Art keeps me balanced and reinforces that stepping outside your comfort zone is essential.

Outside teaching, I serve on the Belonging Community Committee, which advocates for every group in the department. We helped secure a gender-neutral bathroom and continue to work on inclusivity. I’ll also be mentoring incoming graduate student instructors this year.

Looking ahead, I want to improve my coordination skills—especially strategies for handling instructor-student conflicts and making courses run more efficiently. In my own teaching, I’m exploring ways to integrate innovative practices into large lectures without sacrificing content or timeline.

by Dalyana Guerra, assistant professor of mathematics, from Syracuse, New York.

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New Math Faculty

New Math Faculty


July 17, 2025
Above: Petar Bakic (left) and Daniel Sinambela

The Department of Mathematics is hiring a bumper crop of new faculty members for the 2025-26 academic year. Two of them are profiled here:  Petar Bakić and Daniel Sinambela.

Finding the right questions
Petar Bakic

Petar Bakic

Petar Bakić, a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics. Originally from Zagreb, Croatia, Bakić graduated from the University of Zagreb and pursued a career in academia in research and teaching. For him, mathematics is finding the right questions to ask rather than seeking the answers to them.

His work centers on representation theory — a field in mathematics that employs linear algebra concepts (such as matrices) for studying the symmetries of spaces. It provides a concrete way to understand abstract algebraic structures by expressing them through linear transformations of vector spaces. Though it is inherently abstract, it connects to other applicable fields including harmonic analysis, geometry, number theory, and physics.

Abstract math researchers are often unheralded, as the complexity and nature of their research means it is not broadcasted to the general public to the same degree as other research fields. However, Bakić is part of a broad research community that is conducting research at an unprecedented rate — helping to advance our collective understanding and to push the frontiers of mathematics.

Beyond the research lab, Bakić enjoys being outdoors and exploring Utah. The Wasatch is a particular favorite for him to go hiking and on bike rides. Above all for Petar Bakić though, are activities involving friends and colleagues. 

by Ethan Hood

Jungles and Gyms
Daniel Sinambela

Daniel Sinambela

Jungles and gyms may seem like an odd place to turn to for a math metaphor, but it was the perfect combination to strike inspiration in Daniel Sinambela. While participating in the Putnam Mathematical Competition, his instructor Samuel Walsh (who would later become his Ph.D. mentor) told him this poignant comparison: “A math contest is much like training in a gym. You know what you are training for, you know the machines you’ll use. But math research is training in the jungle, where you have no idea what you’re about to run into.” 

A structured environment vs. volatile and wholly unpredictable exploration is the difference between known solutions and research questions that may not even have an answer. It’s a fascinating contrast  Sinambela looks back to at the onset of joining the U’s South Korean campus.

It’s been an adventure, starting at Tanjung Enim in Indonesia and then traveling across the Pacific to study at the University of Missouri. After collecting a Ph.D. there in applied mathematics he then hopped across the Atlantic for a postdoctoral researcher position at New York University in Abu Dhabi, UAE. As such he already brings plenty of experience with sister campus locations to bring to the end of this round trip in South Korea.

Throughout his education Sinambela’s research has focused on the area of nonlinear partial differential equations, specifically those that govern the motions of fluids. In this field he’s using equations like free-boundary water wave, Euler and Navier-Stokes, and Stokes-transport. He is studying existence theory and the stability/instability of solutions of those equations.

Between teaching and research, Daniel Sinambela is an avid guitar player and loves playing sports, skills that can be jungles and gyms in their own special ways. While he’s eager to teach in this new environment—to show students the ropes in these mathematics gyms — he hopes to show them the wonders of its jungle too. It may be imposing, you may not know what you face, or even if there’s an answer at all. But as he happily puts it, “That thrill is what makes it fun!”

by Michael Jacobsen

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New Math Faculty

New Math Faculty


July 17, 2025
Above: Chris Miles (left) and Tim Tribone (credit Todd Anderson)

The Department of Mathematics is hiring a bumper crop of new faculty members for the 2025-26 academic year. Two of them are profiled here: Chris Miles and Tim Tribone.

 

Tim Tribone

Finding the right Level
Tim Tribone

Everyone learns in different ways. Some are great at memorization, others visualization.  Where one person learns well in a group another will thrive on their own. This can lead to roadblocks in subjects like math, as it can be tricky to approach students at a level they understand and in a way they mesh with. If overcome it reveals a massive strength of the field: teaching problem-solving and pattern-recognition skills that are useful anywhere. But the process of getting there, of finding that level students are at, can be a complicated challenge. 

Enter Tim Tribone, who among other things has led undergraduate research focused on the mathematics behind card games, taught classes at every level and worked with students exploring virtual reality as a pre-calculus teaching tool.

Tribone has a knack for finding new approaches to meet a student’s needs and interests, a skill that developed from r his own educational journey. Originally a music major, he eventually shifted towards math following the guidance of a mentor. He would continue working his way to a Ph.D. from Syracuse University before taking  a postdoctoral researcher position here at the U.

Along the way, Tribone has learned the importance of helping students at the level they currently are. For his undergraduate researchers he’s learned from his music major experience to create an environment that shows them what a career in math is like. But for his students in business math it’s far more important to treat math like a toolbox, focusing more on direct use and applications so a student can recognize, for example, why an Excel equation isn’t working. 

This sort of teaching is Tim Tribone’s focus moving forward as he takes a faculty position at the U. He enjoys working with postdocs, faculty and undergraduates in research, but he’ll be devoting the lion’s share of his time to teaching. Any student can learn and excel in mathematics, you just need to find the right level for them to do so.  

Blazing a New Trail
Chris Miles

Chris Miles

As technology evolves and industries grow, education must adapt to prepare the next generation for these upcoming opportunities.This requires bringing in new instructors to teach new classes, a rare and exciting opportunity to design entirely new curriculums. The new bioinformatics major is one such initiative, a trailblazing endeavor that new math faculty Chris Miles will soon be joining. 

Or perhaps “rejoining” would be the better word to use here as Miles is one of our own alumni. A first-generation student originally from Pennsylvania, he’s returning to the U after teaching at both New York University and UC Irvine. Called back in part by the aforementioned new major, he explains that “It’s an exciting chance to build something new here; it’s a perfect project- based subject to design classes around.” 

When asked to describe his vision for these new classes, he says that “In this field, you often have biological data from an experiment and have to figure out what to do with it. I want to expose students to that process, present data and encourage them to figure out how to use it. There’s no right answer!” That’s the beauty of a new degree, there’s no tradition that must be adhered to, so you truly get to design whatever works best.

On top of helping to pioneer the bioinformatics curriculum, Miles will also continue his research in “mathematical biology,” which includes the applications of mathematical modeling and AI with biological data. Machine learning allows researchers to survey all data in a set simultaneously and find patterns or equations: in the study of cells, these equations work to help us understand why cells work so well despite being built by seemingly random and disorderly molecular building blocks. Miles describes a field of two extremes where “some researchers will write equations for what they think is true of biology while others let AI decide.” He continues with,“I think it's fun to walk between the two extremes and take the best aspects of both.”

On a new path using new tools, adaptation is mandatory to succeed, but that’s an expertise Chris Miles brings to the table. He looks forward to teaching aspiring students in the upcoming semesters, pushing forward on this exciting new frontier of interdisciplinary discovery.

by Michael Jacobsen

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College of Science Welcomes New Associate Deans

COLLEGE OF SCIENCE WELCOMES NEW ASSOCIATE DEANS


July 2, 2025
Above:  Crocker Science Center at night. Credit: Matt Crawley. Photo credits below: Todd Anderson

Lauren Birgenheier, Akil Narayan and Matthew S. Sigman are tapped as associate deans by Interim Dean Pearl Sandick

The College of Science welcomes Lauren Birgenheier as associate dean for faculty affairs, Akil Narayan as associate dean for undergraduate and graduate studies and Matthew S. Sigman as associate dean for research. Their appointments began July 1, 2025.

Lauren Birgenheier

Lauren Birgenheier earned a Ph.D. in Geoscience from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and completed postdoctoral work there and at the University of Utah before joining the faculty in 2010. She is a sedimentary geologist and geochemist whose research focuses on fluvial, marine and lacustrine systems with implications for energy development, critical mineral exploration, carbon storage and paleoclimate construction. Earlier this year, she received the Outstanding Faculty Research Award in her department. During the 2024-25 academic year, Birgenheier served as one of the inaugural Faculty Fellows in the College of Science. Prior to this role, she served as Associate Chair and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Geology & Geophysics.

Akil Narayan

 

Akil Narayan earned a Ph.D. from Brown University in Applied Mathematics in 2009. He held a postdoctoral appointment at Purdue University and subsequently joined the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth as an Assistant Professor in Mathematics in 2012. In 2015, he joined the U and is currently a professor in the Department of Mathematics and a member of the Scientific Computing and Imaging (SCI) Institute. Narayan’s research focuses on numerical analysis and scientific computing. During the 2024-25 academic year, he served as one of the inaugural Faculty Fellows in the College of Science.

 

 

Matthew Sigman

Matthew Sigman, earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from Washington State University and completed postdoctoral work at NeXstar Pharmaceuticals and Harvard University before joining the U as a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry. He is a physical organic chemist whose research program combines techniques from chemistry and data science to develop new reactions with broad applications, including enantioselective synthesis, energy-related topics and biologically inspired reactions. Earlier this year, he received the U’s Distinguished Mentor Award in recognition of his exceptional dedication to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. A Distinguished Professor in chemistry, Sigman currently holds the Peter J. Christine S. Stang Presidential Endowed Chair of Chemistry and served as chair of the Department of Chemistry from 2019 to 2024. In that role, his leadership was instrumental in maintaining departmental progress and stability through the pandemic.

 

 

 

New Math Faculty

New Math Faculty


June 11, 2025
Above: Professor Uri Shapira (left) and Assistant Professor David Schwein (right)

The Department of Mathematics is hiring a bumper crop of new faculty members for the 2025-26 academic year. Two of them are profiled here: Uri Shapira and David Schwein.

 

Knowing your audience: Uri Shapira

“When wearing the teacher’s hat and not the researcher’s, I believe it is my job to give service. I do not look at myself; I look at the people in class that I currently serve. It’s an attitude that says ‘Ok, let’s look and see what is best for this audience.’”

This is the approach that Uri Shapira takes towards teaching his classes. He’s well aware there is no one-size-fits-all approach that students can learn from, as different students are going to learn in fundamentally different ways. As Shapira describes, a biologist doesn’t need to understand the history of a formula or how it was developed. They just need to know how to use it as a tool. So give them the tool, teach them how it works and where to apply it. 

But a math major would benefit from that history, understanding what the original problem was and how a new tool was created to solve it. And by understanding that process —how such discoveries came to be — students will  be better suited to make their own breakthroughs in the future.

It’s a refreshing and realistic approach to teaching, inspired by a lifetime of exposure to mathematics. Introduced to the subject by his older brother, Shapira would go on to graduate from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem then spend his postdoc at ETH Zurich, which paved the way for a faculty position at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. He brings over a decade of teaching experience, paired with research into how questions in number theory can be approached with the tools of dynamical systems. 

Be it the researcher or the teacher, Uri Shapira fully devotes himself to playing whichever role is before him. After a lifetime of being inspired by mentors and colleagues, he looks forward to contributing to the U’s math community in kind, to learn, to research and to provide the invaluable service of teaching.

Community and Utility: David Schwein

We’ve all heard the stereotypes about math: That it’s a study exclusively for prodigies, that it’s an isolated career. And then there is the classic complaint of “When am I going to use this?” 

But in reality, such complex studies need communication and communities to work alongside them. As for utility, the problem-solving skills math develops are incredibly useful to any walk of life. 

These are the kind of ideals David Schwein hopes to impart to his students.

An assistant professor at the University of Utah, Schwein is fresh off a postdoctoral research journey across Europe, starting at Cambridge and ending at the University of Bonn in Germany His research primarily deals with symmetry, using the Langlands program to study connections between the representation of p-adic groups, number theory and Galois theory. Across this educational arc he’s traveled to almost 20 countries, giving him a wide range of exposure to how math is approached across the globe.

This experience is not unique in the world of math, as Schwein describes “an interesting and stimulating community in this field, all across the globe, that is all working on various aspects of a single problem”— an international network of professional puzzle solvers who can (and usually need) to work together to pursue new breakthroughs. It’s an aspect of the field that often goes unnoticed in what he calls the stupor of complicated lectures, which Schwein hopes to avoid. “You’ve got to break students out of that stupor and get them communicating about ideas, coming up with examples,” he says. “It helps if they’re a little skeptical, questioning how something can be true. I’m looking forward to helping students see the beauty and structure of math, how it’s another science that tells us about the real world.”

With experience teaching both introductory and high-level courses in multiple cultures, Schwein is well equipped to start teaching number theory and complex analysis in the fall. Having grown up in Denver, Colorado, he’s happy to return to his roots in the Rocky Mountains and is eager to explore the beautiful natural environments Utah has to offer. 

by Michael Jacobsen

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