UMM Math professor receives inaugural Simons Foundation Collaboration Grant

Morris, Minn., David Roberts, professor of mathematics at the University of Minnesota, Morris, received a $35,000 grant from the Simons Foundation. Over the next five years, the grant will support Roberts' research, the Division of Science and Mathematics, and the campus.

The title of Roberts' grant-supported research is Explicit Studies of Number Fields. His research on number fields, unusually accessible for research in pure mathematics, is published in academic papers and also in online databases. He teaches Number Theory, which exposes students to mathematical research through his recent papers.

The Simons Foundation is a new funding source for mathematical sciences. Roberts' grant is one of only 140 Collaboration Grants awarded nationwide for the first time this year. The grantor's goal is to substantially increase the collaborative contacts between active researchers in the field of mathematics.

Roberts says, "It is a great honor to receive this grant in the first round. The list of recipients includes many outstanding mathematicians, and I am very pleased to be in their company."

Roberts has taught mathematics at the University of Minnesota, Morris since 1999. Prior to coming to Morris, Roberts taught at Rutgers University, the California Institute of Technology, the University of Toronto, and the University of Chicago. He holds masters and doctoral degrees from Harvard University and a bachelor's degree summa cum laude from Princeton University. Roberts is a member of the Mathematical Association of America and the American Mathematical Society. In 2007, he received the Morris Faculty Distinguished Research Award.