In the United States, May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. As we recognize the importance of Asian American and Pacific Islander mathematicians throughout history and their contributions to applied mathematics and computational and data science, please join us in celebrating by learning more about these SIAM members.
Kyle Dahlin is a mathematical ecologist who uses mathematical models to study the ecology of infectious diseases in human and wildlife populations. Originally from the island of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi, he received a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and continued to obtain a Master’s degree and Ph.D. in Mathematics from Purdue University. Dr. Dahlin is currently a postdoc at the Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases of the Odum School of Ecology, at the University of Georgia. He became a SIAM member during the first year as a postdoc, and is a Class of 2022 MGB-SIAM Early Career Fellow.
Dr. Dahlin’s work primarily focuses on using mathematical models to explain how ecological interactions impact the transmission of mosquito-borne pathogens. His research areas include population, community, mathematical, conservation, and disease ecology. He is also the co-founder of Indigenous Mathematicians, an organization that seeks to connect and support Native American, Native Alaskan, and Pacific Islander mathematicians.
Fadil Santosa is a professor and Yu Wu and Chaomei Chen Department Head of Applied Mathematics and Statistics at John Hopkins University. He was born in Indonesia to parents who immigrated from China. Dr. Santosa’s research focuses on inverse problems, nondestructive testing, wave phenomena, optics, photonics, optimization, optimal design, homogenization methods, and financial mathematics. He holds two patents: one for multifocal optical device design and another for symbol-based decoding of optical codes.
Dr. Santosa received his Ph.D. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 1980. He held positions at Cornell’s Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics and the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Delaware, before joining the School of Mathematics faculty at the University of Minnesota in 1995. In Minnesota, he served as Director of the Minnesota Center for Industrial Mathematics and was involved with the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications from 1997 to 2017, first as Associate Director for Industrial Programs, then as Deputy Director, and as Director.
Dr. Santosa’s involvement with SIAM began in 1980, and since has participated in several national conferences, SIAM activities, and committees. He is also a Class of 2010 SIAM Fellow. Currently, he serves as Chair of the SIAM Fellows Canvassing Committee (FCC) and was a member of the SIAM Imaging Science Activity Group.
Nessy Tania is a Principal Quantitative Systems Pharmacologist at Pfizer. Prior to joining Pfizer, she was an Associate Professor at the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Smith College. She was born and spent most of her childhood in Indonesia. The first in her family to attend college, she pursued her undergraduate degree at the University of California, Davis where she was introduced to the field of mathematical biology through an undergraduate research project. She continued to pursue training in math biology by obtaining her Ph.D. in Mathematics at the University of Utah followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of British Columbia.
Having personally experienced the transformational value of undergraduate research, Dr. Tania mentored students, particularly women and those from historically excluded groups, and introduced them to applied mathematics research while she was on the faculty. Her interest in working in a collaborative and interdisciplinary setting ultimately spurred her career transition to industry in order to pursue translational research. At Pfizer, Dr. Tania uses mathematical modeling and simulations to support clinical developments and discovery of new treatments for rare diseases.
SIAM has been a professional home throughout Dr. Tania’s career development and journey for the past 16 years. Starting with her first SIAM conference presentation to co-organizing minisymposia and career panels, SIAM conferences have enabled her to learn and pursue new research areas, start new collaborations, and bridge connections between academia and industry. She is currently an Associate Editor for SIAM Undergraduate Research Online (SIURO) and is a member of the SIAM Industry Committee.