“Mathematics, to me is… a powerful way of thinking that reveals how things work, whether it is focused on abstract structures, logical arguments, geometrical viewpoints, or applied modeling.”
Lisa's Biography
Rachel Kuske is a Professor of Mathematics at the University of British Columbia. She received her PhD in 1992 from Northwestern University, and has research interests in applied stochastic dynamics and nonlinear modeling with applications in biology, engineering, and climate systems.
Before coming to Canada, she was a postdoc at Stanford and University of Utrecht and held faculty appointments at Tufts University and the University of Minnesota. In 2002 Kuske joined the faculty in UBC Mathematics, where she held a Canada Research Chair in Applied Mathematics 2002-2012 and was the Department Head from 2007-2011. In 2011 she was appointed as the Senior Advisor to the Provost on Women Faculty.
Kuske has worked with a variety of mathematical institutes and professional organizations in applied mathematics and has been expert and mentor for events covering topics from industrial mathematics to women in mathematics. She was awarded the Canadian Mathematical Society’s Krieger-Nelson prize in 2011 and the Association for Women in Mathematics Service Award in 2013.
Kuske’s recent service to the science community includes contributions as Associate Director of Program Diversity at the American Institute of Mathematics, co-chair of the bi-annual SIAM Applied Dynamical Systems meeting and as founder co chair for Mentor Network of the Association for Women in Mathematics. She is on the editorial boards for the SIAM J on Applied Math, the European J. of Applied Math, the IMA J. of Applied Math, and Discrete and Continuous Dynamics – B.
