HSE Faculty of Mathematics

The HSE Department of Mathematics (Russian: факультет математики НИУ ВШЭ) is one of the newest departments at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (the first students were admitted in 2008). It was founded jointly by the HSE and the Independent University of Moscow.^[1] It awards the degrees of Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Mathematics and Mathematical Physics. Pure Mathematics extends the initial specializations of the university (human and social sciences).

Aim of the project

The main objective for the foundation of the Department of Mathematics, NRU HSE was to create the first mathematics department in the former USSR that would be internationally competitive in the following sense:^[2][3][4]

• Employment terms and conditions (including salary range and research funding) should be attractive for mathematicians from developed countries;
• It makes use of a hybrid strategy of instruction that combines Konstantinov's system^[5] and the best practices of leading Western mathematics departments (such as teaching assistantships,^[6] a cumulative grading scheme,^[7] minimum score of 6 required on IELTS test,^[8] etc.), as well as implementation of the Bologna process.

Current state

The department has been successful in attracting researchers from the USA, France, the UK, and Japan, and not only those of Russian origin. 50%^[9] of faculty under 40 hold a Ph.D. degree from leading mathematics departments of Western universities (Harvard, Princeton, etc.), 40% of the undergraduate students are winners of national mathematics Olympiads (which is currently the highest rate in Russia^[10]). However, these indications of popularity are not enough to judge the success, because, as of 2011, the department is only three years old, so for example, no students have yet completed their studies).

Notable faculty members and associate faculty members

Fedor Bogomolov (Head of the HSE Laboratory of Algebraic Geometry), one of the creators of the theory of hyperkahler manifolds.

Igor Krichever (director of the HSE Master of Science program in Mathematical Physics, previously the dean of the mathematics department at Columbia University), fourth on the list of most cited Russian mathematicians.^[11]

Sergey Lando (Dean of the HSE Faculty of Mathematics), one of the authors of the ELSV formula.

Victor Vassiliev (Chair of the joint department of the Steklov Institute of Mathematics and the HSE Mathematics Department, president of the Moscow Mathematical Society), creator of the theory of finite type invariants.

Mikhail Verbitsky (Professor), prominent mathematician, widely known in Russia as a controversial critic and political activist.

Notable projects co-implemented by the department

Moscow Mathematical Journal (jointly with the AMS and the Independent University of Moscow, or IUM), currently the most cited^[12] Russian international mathematical journal.

Math in Moscow (jointly with AMS,^[13] CMS^[14] and IUM), a one-semester educational programme in advanced mathematics, taught in English and covered by NSERC and NSF travel grants for Canadian and US students, selected by CMS and AMS respectively.

International Master's program in mathematics, directed by Yulij Ilyashenko and conducted in English^[15] (jointly with the Steklov Institute of Mathematics).

Laboratory of algebraic geometry and its applications, a research group supervised by Fedor Bogomolov and funded from one of the three so-called 'mega-grants',^[16] recently awarded by the RF government to math departments in Russia (the other two recipients are the MSU Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics and the SPbSU Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics^[17]).

International recognition

In terms of research strength, the Department (including faculty members at satellite branches at Steklov and Kharkevich Institutes) may well belong to the top 100 mathematics departments at research universities worldwide.

—Report of the International Advisory Board for Department of Mathematics^[18]

Criticism

In the last decade, Russian educational authorities have been introducing the Unified State Exam (Russian: ЕГЭ) for graduates of high schools and adjusting high school educational standards accordingly. The Higher School of Economics was one of the promoters of this reform. A large part of the academic mathematics community and especially the Independent University of Moscow were uncompromising opponents of the Unified State Exam in its current form^[19] and generated a society-wide discussion, resembling math wars in the USA. Based on this fact, some observers suspect that, providing resources for a joint mathematics department with the IUM, the Higher School of Economics attempted to "buy" the opinion of many leading mathematicians.^[3]

References

External links

• HSE Faculty of Mathematics
• Bogomolov Lab
• Math in Moscow
• Moscow Mathematical Journal