Chuu-Lian Terng
Encyclopedia
Chuu-Lian Terng is a mathematician
. She received her B.S. from National Taiwan University
in 1971 and her Ph.D. from Brandeis University
in 1976 under the supervision of Richard Palais, whom she later married. She is currently a professor at University of California at Irvine.
She was a professor at Northeastern University for many years. Before joining Northeastern, she spent two years at the University of California, Berkeley
and four years at Princeton University
. She also spent two years at the Institute for Advanced Study
(IAS) in Princeton and two years at the Max-Planck Institute in Bonn, Germany.
In 1999, her Association for Women in Mathematics
press release reads:
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
. She received her B.S. from National Taiwan University
National Taiwan University
National Taiwan University is a national co-educational university located in Taipei, Republic of China . In Taiwan, it is colloquially known as "Táidà" . Its main campus is set upon 1,086,167 square meters in Taipei's Da'an District. In addition, the university has 6 other campuses in Taiwan,...
in 1971 and her Ph.D. from Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
in 1976 under the supervision of Richard Palais, whom she later married. She is currently a professor at University of California at Irvine.
She was a professor at Northeastern University for many years. Before joining Northeastern, she spent two years at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
and four years at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. She also spent two years at the Institute for Advanced Study
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is an independent postgraduate center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It was founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner...
(IAS) in Princeton and two years at the Max-Planck Institute in Bonn, Germany.
In 1999, her Association for Women in Mathematics
Association for Women in Mathematics
The Association for Women in Mathematics is a professional society whose mission is to encourage women and girls to study and to have active careers in the mathematical sciences. Equal opportunity and the equal treatment of women and girls in the mathematical sciences are promoted. The AWM was...
press release reads:
Her early research concerned the classification of naturalNatural transformationIn category theory, a branch of mathematics, a natural transformation provides a way of transforming one functor into another while respecting the internal structure of the categories involved. Hence, a natural transformation can be considered to be a "morphism of functors". Indeed this intuition...
vector bundleVector bundleIn mathematics, a vector bundle is a topological construction that makes precise the idea of a family of vector spaces parameterized by another space X : to every point x of the space X we associate a vector space V in such a way that these vector spaces fit together...
s and natural differential operatorDifferential operatorIn mathematics, a differential operator is an operator defined as a function of the differentiation operator. It is helpful, as a matter of notation first, to consider differentiation as an abstract operation, accepting a function and returning another .This article considers only linear operators,...
s between them. She then became interested in submanifoldSubmanifoldIn mathematics, a submanifold of a manifold M is a subset S which itself has the structure of a manifold, and for which the inclusion map S → M satisfies certain properties. There are different types of submanifolds depending on exactly which properties are required...
geometry. Her main contributions are developing a structure theory for isoparametricIsoparametric manifoldIn Riemannian geometry, an isoparametric manifold is a type of submanifold of Euclidean space whose normal bundle is flat and whose principal curvatures are constant along any parallel normal vector field...
submanifolds in Rn and constructing solitonSolitonIn mathematics and physics, a soliton is a self-reinforcing solitary wave that maintains its shape while it travels at constant speed. Solitons are caused by a cancellation of nonlinear and dispersive effects in the medium...
equations from special submanifolds. Recently, Terng and Karen UhlenbeckKaren UhlenbeckKaren Keskulla Uhlenbeck is a professor and Sid W. Richardson Regents Chairholder in the Department of Mathematics at The University of Texas in Austin. In 1998 she was selected to be a Noether Lecturer. In 2000, she became a recipient of the National Medal of Science...
(University of Texas at AustinUniversity of Texas at AustinThe University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
) have developed a general approach to integrableIntegrable systemIn mathematics and physics, there are various distinct notions that are referred to under the name of integrable systems.In the general theory of differential systems, there is Frobenius integrability, which refers to overdetermined systems. In the classical theory of Hamiltonian dynamical...
PDEs that explains their hidden symmetries in terms of loop groupLoop groupIn mathematics, a loop group is a group of loops in a topological group G with multiplication defined pointwise. Specifically, letLG \,denote the space of continuous mapsS^1 \to G...
actions. She is co-author of the book Submanifold Geometry and Critical Point Theory and an editor of the Journal of Differential Geometry survey volume 4 on "Integrable systems".
Professor Terng served as President of the Association for Women in MathematicsAssociation for Women in MathematicsThe Association for Women in Mathematics is a professional society whose mission is to encourage women and girls to study and to have active careers in the mathematical sciences. Equal opportunity and the equal treatment of women and girls in the mathematical sciences are promoted. The AWM was...
(AWM) from 1995 to 1997 and as Member-at-Large of the Council of the American Mathematical SocietyAmerican Mathematical SocietyThe American Mathematical Society is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, which it does with various publications and conferences as well as annual monetary awards and prizes to mathematicians.The society is one of the...
(AMS) from 1989 to 1992. She is currently on the Advisory Board of the National Center for Theoretical Sciences in Taiwan, the Steering Committee of the IAS/Park City Summer Institute, and the Editorial Board of the Transactions of the AMS."
Honors
- Sloan FellowshipSloan FellowshipThe Sloan Research Fellowships are awarded annually by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation since 1955 to "provide support and recognition to early-career scientists and scholars". This is distinct from the Sloan Fellows in business....
in 1980. - Humboldt Senior Scientist Award in 1997.
- AWM/MAA Falconer LecturerAWM/MAA Falconer LecturerThe Association for Women in Mathematics and the Mathematical Association of America annually present the Etta Z. Falconer Lectures to honor women who have made distinguished contributions to the mathematical sciences or mathematics education. These one-hour expository lectures are presented at...
in 1999
External links
- Terng's Home Page at University of California, Irvine.