Contact and symplectic topology are branches of mathematics that are motivated by Physics, specifically by classical mechanics and thermodynamics. This National Science Foundation funded project seeks to extend the application of physical phenomena to the study of three-dimensional topology.

John Shareshian studies problems in combinatorics that arise in or have consequences for other fields of mathematics. There are close connections between combinatorics and other fields of mathematics in which non-discrete objects are studied, including topology and geometry. The work of Shareshian involves the close study of such connections, with the aim of solving problems about both discrete and non-discrete structures.

John McCarthy has received a five-year grant from the National Science Foundation to study Operator Theory and Applications. He will study problems in operator theory, function theory, and in non-commutative functions.

Irina Holmes, currently a Hale Postdoctoral Fellow at Georgia Tech, received an NSF postdoctoral fellowship for her work in Harmonic Analysis. She will spend 2016-2018 at Washington University, working with sponsoring scientist Brett Wick.

James E. Pascoe, William Chauvenet Lecturer at Washington University, received an NSF postdoctoral fellowship for his work in Operator Theory and several complex variables. He will be a Fellow for 2016-2019. His research specialty is in non-commutative function theory, and he will work with sponsoring scientist John McCarthy.