McIntyre Professor of Mathematics Solomon Friedberg elected to AAAS leadership position
The American Association for the Advancement of Science announced that James P. McIntyre Professor of Mathematics Solomon Friedberg has been elected as the nominations and leadership development chair of the AAAS Section on Mathematics.
Last year, Friedberg was named a Fellow of AAAS, one of the world’s largest general scientific societies and publisher of the Science family of journals. AAAS Fellows are recognized for their achievements across disciplines, from research, teaching, and technology to administration in academia, industry, and government to excellence in communicating and interpreting science to the public.
As nominations and leadership development chair (N/LDC), Friedberg heads the Section leader nomination process for the Section Steering Committee and has ultimate responsibility for ensuring the Section submits a final slate of nominees that aligns with AAAS’ strategic goals of advancing scientific excellence and achievement and fostering equity and inclusion, as well as AAAS’ commitment to ethical conduct. In addition, the N/LDC seeks to identify additional leadership opportunities or candidate cultivation strategies for promising individuals who are suited for something other than Section leadership positions.
“The N/LDC role is focused on acknowledging and advancing scientific excellence and achievement as well as recognizing the diversity of the community of mathematics scholars,” said Friedberg. “These are matters I have always cared a lot about. My service will also afford me the opportunity to meet and speak with other members of the Steering Committee for the Mathematics Section and with the leadership from other disciplinary Sections. In doing so, I hope to enhance my knowledge of advances in contemporary mathematics and science.
“I am grateful to the AAAS for nominating me and to the members of the Section for their confidence in me. I look forward to contributing.”
A Boston College faculty member since 1996, Friedberg is renowned for his scholarly work in number theory, representation theory, and automorphic forms—an analytical approach to complex mathematical problems. He has received funding for his research from the National Security Agency, National Science Foundation, and Simons Foundation.
Friedberg served as the Mathematics chair from 2007 to 2016, during which the department launched a doctoral program and a new bachelor of science degree, and its enrollment more than doubled. He has also worked with colleagues in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development and Boston-area public schools to support secondary math teachers in high-needs districts.
Among other professional marks of distinction, Friedberg has been named a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society, a 2021 Simons Fellow in Mathematics, and for two years chaired the United States National Commission on Mathematics Instruction.