Pamela Gorkin is awarded the 2025 Mary P. Dolciani Prize for Excellence in Research by the American Mathematical Society (AMS). Gorkin is professor emerita of mathematics at Bucknell University and recently served as a program officer for the Division of Mathematical Sciences at the National Science Foundation (NSF). She receives the prize for her record of high-quality research in functional analysis, complex analysis, operator theory, and linear algebra, and for her outstanding mathematical exposition, her work with undergraduates, and her service to the profession.
According to the prize citation, Gorkin has a broad and robust research program spanning more than 40 years. As her nominators write, “Dr. Gorkin boasts a long and prodigious publication record while spending her entire career at Bucknell, a primarily undergraduate institution. Dr. Gorkin’s research spans topics in functional analysis, complex analysis, operator theory, and linear algebra. Primary themes in her work involve problems about interpolation, the numerical range, and composition of operators.” She is an author of more than 100 mathematics publications.
Her nominators explain that, as a main part of her research program, she “explores and develops deep and unexpected connections between classical objects in complex analysis, linear algebra, functional analysis and ellipses.” Given the mathematical background required to engage in this type of research, it is especially impressive that Gorkin has supervised published undergraduate research in her field.
In addition to her research, Gorkin’s body of expository work is extensive. She is a gifted communicator and is particularly talented at conveying the complex mathematical ideas used in her research to experts and nonexperts alike. She has published two books and more than 10 expository papers, some with undergraduate coauthors.
Gorkin has won several teaching awards, was selected to give the 2018 AWM-MAA Falconer Lecture, and has been invited to give numerous presentations all over the world. For more than four decades, she has been a remarkable mathematician who has served as an inspirational role model to mathematicians as well as students at all levels.
Response of Pamela Gorkin
Thank you for this recognition. There are so many deserving people and it is truly an honor to receive this award. I wish to thank the AMS for their work, and the Mary P. Dolciani Halloran Foundation for their support of mathematics and mathematics education. Focusing on undergraduate students helps to strengthen and diversify the mathematics pipeline. I am proud to be part of a department that prioritizes student learning and success and that supports research and teaching, all while maintaining a strong culture of collegiality.
This recognition is a testament to the collaborative efforts of everyone involved. I wish to thank those who nominated me for the confidence they have shown in me. I am thankful for the guidance and support of my advisor, Sheldon Axler, whose exceptional work as a scholar, teacher, and expositor serves as a model for others. I am also grateful to my coauthors and students for their curiosity, insights, and commitment to learning, which have been a constant source of inspiration for me. Finally, I would like to thank my husband, who is also my coauthor, and my family for their unwavering support, love, and encouragement.
Biographical sketch of Pamela Gorkin
Pamela Gorkin is professor emerita of mathematics at Bucknell University, where she was Presidential Professor of Mathematics (2001-2003). She received her PhD in Mathematics and a master’s degree in statistics from Michigan State University. She has coauthored two books and published research articles in functional analysis, operator theory, function theory, and linear algebra. She has co-authored papers with ten undergraduate students. She has served on the editorial board of Proceedings of the AMS, Springer UTM, and is currently an associate editor for the Mathematical Intelligencer. The Simons Foundation and the NSF have supported her research, and she served as a program officer at the NSF. She received Bucknell’s Lindback Award for distinguished teaching and MAA’s EPaDel teaching award. In 2018, she presented the AWM-MAA Etta Z. Falconer Lecture. She has been fortunate to have held short-term visiting positions in France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, and Japan.
About the prize
The AMS Mary P. Dolciani Prize for Excellence in Research recognizes a mathematician from a department that does not grant a PhD, who has an active research program in mathematics and a distinguished record of scholarship. The primary criterion for the prize is an active research program, as evidenced by a strong record of peer-reviewed publications. This prize is funded by a grant from the Mary P. Dolciani Halloran Foundation. Mary P. Dolciani Halloran (1923-1985) was a gifted mathematician, educator, and author.
The 2025 Dolciani Prize will be recognized during the Joint Mathematics Meetings in January 2025 in Seattle.
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CONTACTS: AMS, com-staff@ams.org; Mike Ferlazzo, 570-577-3212, 570-238-6266 (c), mike.ferlazzo@bucknell.edu