Purdue Mathematics welcomes new faculty for 2026-27 academic year
09-08-2026
The Purdue University Department of Mathematics welcomes a new group of faculty members who bring diverse research interests, teaching experiences and perspectives to the department for the 2026-27 academic year.
From arithmetic geometry and analytic number theory to mathematical modeling, machine learning and partial differential equations, the new faculty members expand the breadth of research taking place within the department while bringing new opportunities for collaboration and mentorship. Several also will contribute to Purdue’s commitment to providing students with a strong foundation in mathematical thinking and problem-solving
We are very pleased to welcome these new faculty members to the Purdue Mathematics community,” said Irena Swanson, head of the Department of Mathematics. “Their expertise spans a wide range of areas in mathematics, and we look forward to the new ideas, collaborations and opportunities they will bring to our department and our students.
Xuenan Li joins the department as an assistant professor of mathematics. Her research focuses on partial differential equations, calculus of variations, spectral theory and mathematical problems arising from mechanics and materials science. She develops mathematical tools for understanding multiscale physical systems, with particular interest in mechanical metamaterials, rigidity and tensegrity structures, and the spectral properties of quantum materials.
Li earned a Ph.D. in applied mathematics from the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University, followed by a Chu Assistant Professorship in Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics at Columbia University.
Eddie Price received his Ph.D. in mathematics from Purdue University in 2020, where he studied commutative algebra. He served as a visiting assistant professor at Grinnell College from 2020-22 and then held the same position at Colorado College from 2022-26. Price now rejoins the Department of Mathematics at Purdue as an assistant professor of practice and will be based in Indianapolis.
Steven Lancette is a lecturer in the Department of Mathematics.
The following are joining as Golomb Visiting Assistant Professors:
Ali Alsetri earned his Ph.D. from University of Kentucky. His research interests lie in additive combinatorics and its applications to number theory.
Neelam Kandhil received her Ph.D. in mathematics from the Institute of Mathematical Sciences in Chennai, India. She has held postdoctoral positions at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in Bonn, Germany, and the University of Hong Kong. She specializes in analytic number theory.
Bingxue Tao received a Ph.D. from Kyoto University before joining Purdue. His research is in geometric group theory, where he studies how algebraic properties of groups interact with geometry and topology.
Michael Wills earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Virginia. He works in arithmetic geometry, a branch of mathematics dating back to third-century Greece that continues to present unsolved problems involving systems of polynomials. His research combines tools from computational number theory, K-theory and algebraic geometry, and he is excited to join Purdue’s research group on mixed characteristic problems. Outside of research, Wills is interested in evidence-based teaching and looks forward to helping students learn to speak the language of mathematics.
Zhiyuan Yang earned his Ph.D. from Texas A&M University. He works in free probability and operator algebras.
Xuda Ye earned a Ph.D. from Peking University in 2025 and was a postdoc at Purdue in 2025-2026 working with professors Rongjie Lai and Di Qi. He studies stochastic analysis, sampling problems in computational physics and scientific machine learning.
The following are joining as two-year Visiting Assistant Professors:
Biraj Dahal earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2026. His research focuses on leveraging low-dimensional structures to design and theoretically understand machine learning methods for scientific problems.
Keshav Dahiya earned his Ph.D. from Indiana University Indianapolis. His research focuses on representation theory of quantum affine algebras and its applications to integrable systems. He is interested in exploring connections between his work and algebraic topology and random matrix theory.
Ning Ma earned his Ph.D. from University at Buffalo SUNY. His current research interests include number theory, automorphic forms and L-functions.
Kevin Piterman earned his Ph.D. from University of Buenos Aires and previously held a Humboldt Fellowship at Philipps-Universität Marburg and an FWO Fellowship at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. His research lies at the intersection of algebraic topology, combinatorics and group theory.
Haoran Qi received a Ph.D. in mathematics from The Pennsylvania State University. His primary research interests are partial differential equations and microlocal analysis and their applications. Current work focuses on the singularity propagation of viscoelastic equations with non-smooth coefficients.
Dharm Veer received his Ph.D. in mathematics from the Chennai Mathematical Institute in India. His research interests include combinatorics and commutative algebra.
Lucas Williams received his Ph.D. from State University of New York at Binghamton in 2026. He works in algebraic and geometric topology.
Looking ahead
The addition of these faculty members strengthens the Purdue Mathematics Department’s research across a broad range of mathematical disciplines. As they begin their work at Purdue, they will have opportunities to collaborate with colleagues across the department and university while contributing to the education and development of the next generation of mathematicians.
“Visiting professors bring much research breadth and excitement to the department. We are excited to see a large new group come to interact with the department and the broader Purdue community,” Swanson said. “We look forward to the contributions they will make through their research, teaching and engagement with our students.”
About the Mathematics Department at Purdue University
The Department of Mathematics is one of seven departments making up Purdue's College of Science. The Department has an international reputation as an outstanding center for mathematical research and education. Over 70 professors are actively involved in research in many areas of mathematics, including visiting scholars and through a vibrant graduate program. The Department offers Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. The department is located in the Math Building at 150 N. University Street in West Lafayette, Indiana. Learn more at math.purdue.edu.
Written by: Alisha Willett, Senior Communications Specialist, amwillet@purdue.edu