Brown names math institute founder new research VP

JILL PIPHER, who in 2010 helped found the Brown University Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics, has succeeded David Savitz as vice president for research at Brown, effective July 1. / COURTESY BROWN UNIVERSITY
JILL PIPHER, who in 2010 helped found the Brown University Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics, has succeeded David Savitz as vice president for research at Brown, effective July 1. / COURTESY BROWN UNIVERSITY

PROVIDENCE – Brown University has appointed Jill Pipher, professor of mathematics and founding director of Brown University’s Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics, as the university’s new vice president for research.

Effective as of July 1, Pipher has taken over the role from David Savitz, who was vice president of research for four years and will now resume his position as a professor of epidemiology in the Brown University School of Public Health and a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

In her role as ICERM director from 2010 to 2016, Pipher was instrumental in securing the institute’s foundational $15.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation, as well as the $17.5 million grant renewal in 2015.

As one of eight NSF mathematics institutes, ICERM brings together some of the world’s top mathematical minds to explore topics in pure and applied math, computer science and related disciplines.

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“The work I did at ICERM is somewhat similar to what I’ll be doing as vice president for research,” Pipher said in the release announcing her appointment. “I was facilitating the research of others – providing the right infrastructure, assembling staff, identifying strong scientific programs and securing grants. I’ll be doing many of the same things now, but with a much wider focus.”

The vice president for research serves as Brown University’s primary advocate for research, facilitates grant applications, manages research support and reporting, provides seed funding for promising proposals and coordinates intellectual property efforts, including patents, licensing and business startups.

Together with the research vice president of the University of Rhode Island, Pipher will serve as co-chair of the R.I. Science and Technology Advisory Council, which assists state leaders in developing programs and policies to build on Rhode Island’s research and development capacity and encourage innovation and entrepreneurship.

“Jill is an accomplished researcher and a dynamic leader with a deep understanding of Brown’s collaborative approach to scholarship that transcends disciplinary boundaries,” said Richard M. Locke, Brown University provost. “I look forward to working with her to continue to strengthen support for rigorous research at Brown and to maximize the impact of faculty and student discoveries.”

Pipher said her priorities will include regular visits to Washington, D.C., to meet with funding program officers, legislators and other key figures in the federal funding process. She will also work with Brown’s executive director of corporate relations to expand private sector partnerships that generate new research programs and funding and help to transfer research from the lab to the marketplace.

The Elisha Benjamin Andrews Professor of Mathematics and a Brown faculty member since 1989, Pipher’s primary research interests are in areas of mathematics that have broad applications in the physical and life sciences, including harmonic analysis and partial differential equations. Her joint work in the field of cryptography led to the development of a patented public key encryption system and a startup company called NTRU Cryptosystems.

Pipher taught at the University of Chicago prior to her arrival at Brown and holds bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in mathematics from the University of California Los Angeles.

Kaylen Auer is a PBN contributing writer.

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