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Professor of Mathematics Tao Li has been elected a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society (AMS) for his contributions to low-dimensional topology, especially the topology of three-manifolds.
Li was one of 50 distinguished mathematicians from around the world to be selected among the 2016 cohort for the program, which recognizes members who have made outstanding contributions to the creation, exposition, advancement, communication and utilization of mathematics.
“I am delighted to see Professor Li’s outstanding scholarship recognized in this way,” said James P. McIntyre Professor of Mathematics and Department Chairperson Solomon Friedberg, a 2014 AMS Fellow. “His election highlights the quality of mathematical scholarship being carried out in our department and its impact upon the broader mathematical community. It is a well-deserved honor for him, and also another landmark for the BC Math Department as a whole.”
“I am honored and excited to be elected an AMS fellow,” said Li, who joined the BC faculty in 2005. “I would like to thank all my colleagues for their support. This honor is also a recognition of the contribution that the BC Math Department makes to mathematics.”
Li’s research is primarily focused on the topology and geometry of three-dimensional manifolds, which have striking geometric and combinatorial structures.
One goal of his research, according to his faculty web site, is to explore the connections between these structures and other areas of mathematics, such as knot theory and geometric group theory.
Li’s other honors and awards include a Liftoff Fellowship from the Clay Mathematics Institute and an Alfred P. Sloan Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship.