NSF Awards Zair Ibragimov Grant for Students to Study Abroad

Zair Ibragimov, assistant professor of mathematics, was awarded a National Science Foundation grant that will send students — particularly women and underrepresented — to Uzbekistan over the next three summers to gain international, cutting-edge research experience under the mentorship of prominent Uzbek mathematicians. The project, IRES: USA-Uzbekistan Collaborative Research in Leibniz Algebras, was funded for $249,991.

Ibragimov will take three separate cohorts of 15-21 students to Uzbekistan to conduct research for two months at the Institute of Mathematics of the National University of Uzbekistan. They will join prominent Uzbek mathematician, Shavkat Ayupov, a well-known expert in Leibniz algebras, and his research group to collaborate with their Uzbek peers and mentors on topics of current interest in Leibniz algebras. Examples of research topics include studying properties of derivations of Leibniz algebras and identifying solvable rigid Leibniz algebras. The Leibniz algebras, which are generalizations of Lie algebras, are an important and rapidly developing area of mathematics with applications in general relativity, quantum mechanics and string theory. It is expected that each research project will result in publications and lead to further research collaboration. In addition to their research activities, the students will also take short courses on the language, culture and traditions of Uzbekistan to help them adjust to their surroundings. During their stay in Uzbekistan, students will travel to the ancient cities of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva to learn about the cultural and scientific heritage of Uzbekistan.