Congratulations to Dr. Nicolae Strungaru, professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics.
Each year, the Dr. Sherrill Brown Distinguished Research Award recognizes one faculty member who conducts exceptional scholarly work that has demonstrated significant contributions to society and the scholarly community — locally, nationally or internationally.
“Not only does Dr. Strungaru regularly produce research of an extremely high calibre, he is known for his ability to meaningfully engage our undergraduate mathematics students in that highly complex work,” says Dr. Craig Monk, provost & vice-president, Academic. “This blended strength in teaching and scholarship exemplifies what our institution means when we speak of teaching greatness.”
About this year’s recipient
Dr. Strungaru received a BSc from the University of Bucharest in 1999 and a PhD from the University of Alberta in 2006. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Victoria and has been a faculty member at MacEwan University since 2010.
The mathematics of aperiodic order is a complex area of research that involves quasicrystals – paradigm-shifting materials discovered in the 1980s that diffract like crystals, but do not share the same arrangement of atoms, particles or unit cells. Studying quasicrystals blends materials science and mathematics, and is led by a group of international researchers of which Dr. Stungaru is a key member.
Dr. Strungaru is a leader in reconciling the many subtle variations of almost periodic order and his work on how quasicrystals diffract is an important development in mathematics. His sole and co-authored reviews on the subject fill 170 pages in what will be a five-volume work on aperiodic order published by the Cambridge University Press that will be the definitive treatment of the subject for many years to come.
In addition to his collaboration with fellow mathematicians (illustrated by his extensive publication record), Dr. Strungaru is a devoted teacher. He works closely with many of MacEwan’s students majoring in mathematics, co-supervises graduate students from other institutions and has brought a postdoctoral fellow to campus to engage in his work.
Dr. Strungaru will receive a Distinguished Research Award on June 22 at 9:30 a.m., as part of the university’s spring convocation ceremonies.