Four AMS Researchers Appointed Frey Family Foundation Professorship
The College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS) and the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics (AMS) are proud to announce the recipients of the Frey Family Foundation Professorship. These four faculty were selected in recognition of exceptional research and contributions to the AMS department. Funds from the Frey Family Foundation Professorship in Applied Mathematics and Statistics will support additional research for each incumbent over the next two years. They include:
Xiangmin (Jim) Jiao, Associate Professor
Xiangmin (Jim) Jiao joined the Stony Brook faculty in 2007. His research focus is high performance geometric and numerical computing in science and engineering. Awards received include the Excellence in Teaching Award, Outstanding Teacher Award, and the David J. Kuck Outstanding PhD Thesis Award from UICC.He received his PhD in Computer Science in 2001 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC).
Dmytro (Dima) Kozakov, Associate Professor
Dima Kozakov joined the Stony Brook faculty in 2015. His research interests lie at the intersection of applied mathematics, physics and computational biology. His protein-protein docking software package PIPER is licensed to Schrödinger, one of the largest pharmaceutical software vendors in the United States and worldwide. In addition, Dima’s CLUSPRO is currently the best web server for computational modeling of protein-protein interactions according to the international communal competition CAPRI. He received his PhD in Biomedical Engineering in 2006 from Boston University.
Pei Fen Kuan, Associate Professor
Pei Fen Kuan joined the Stony Brook faculty in 2014. Her research interests focus on statistical and computational issues arising from the problems in genome biology. Many of her research projects center around tiling arrays and the next generation sequencing platforms. Major awards include Excellence in Teaching, CEAS Millionaires Club, and Outstanding Teacher Award. She received her PhD in Statistics in 2009 from the University of Wisconsin.
Robert C. Rizzo joined the Stony Brook faculty in 2004. His research group seeks to understand the atomic basis for molecular recognition with computational structural biology. Major awards received include the NYSTAR Investigator Award, the Hewlett Packard Outstanding Junior Faculty Award, and the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Award. He received his PhD in Chemistry in 2001 from Yale University.
“These four exceptional AMS faculty have demonstrated creativity and scholarship, while training and mentoring their students to be at the cutting edge of their disciplines," said Joe Mitchell, Chair of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics. "This level of generosity encourages excellence among our faculty -- an important contribution to our high rankings among the top applied mathematics programs in the nation."
Founded by Dr. Robert Frey, Research Professor in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, The Frey Family Foundation focuses its resources in three areas: education (especially in the public sector), healthcare, and social services for at-risk youth. The Foundation runs several scholarship programs for secondary and university students, gives direct support to various human services initiatives, and provides free business consulting and investment management advice to several charitable organizations. Dr. Frey has personally and through his family foundation impacted many lives in his hometown of Port Jefferson and the surrounding area, by actively supporting organizations such as Mount Sinai and Port Jefferson High Schools, Suffolk Community College, John T. Mather Memorial Hospital, Hope House Ministries and many more, in addition to Stony Brook University.
Frey is Founder and Co-Director of the Quantitative Finance Program, in which he is actively engaged in teaching courses and mentoring graduate students. He has nearly 30 years of experience as an executive and applied scientist in both the private and public sectors. His last 20 years have been focused on the management, research and development of all phases of securities trading, including mathematical modeling, portfolio management, trading strategy, order-execution systems, marketing and the trading desk. Today, he runs his own investment firm, FQS Capital Partners, which he founded as an alternative investment specialist that uses cutting-edge mathematical techniques to analyze and invest in hedge funds. Frey holds a BS and a PhD in Applied Mathematics and Statistics (Operations Research), both from Stony Brook University.
“I congratulate these outstanding researchers for this well-deserved distinction - all leaders in their field who have made significant contributions in their disciplines,” said Fotis Sotiropoulos, Dean, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. “We are incredibly grateful to the Frey Family Foundation for their passion for giving and their sustained support of the AMS Department, our faculty and the entire Stony Brook University community. Their exceptional generosity has touched many lives and fosters academic excellence among faculty and students alike.”
The four faculty will be formally installed during a virtual investiture ceremony on June 10, 2021.