News Release

Jong-Shi Pang, a professor in The Johns Hopkins University's Department of Mathematical Sciences, has been awarded the 2003 George B. Dantzig Prize.

The Dantzig is the world's top prize in the area of mathematical programming, the mathematical science of making best-possible decisions in the face of constraints. The prize, awarded once every three years, is issued jointly by the Mathematical Programming Society and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. The award was established in honor of George B. Dantzig, a pioneer in the field of mathematical programming.

Pang received the prize at the International Symposium on Mathematical Programming held recently in Copenhagen, Denmark. Pang shares the Dantzig prize with Alexander Schrijver of the National Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science in the Netherlands.

A faculty member in Johns Hopkins' Whiting School of Engineering since 1987, Pang was recognized not only on his key contributions to mathematical theory but also for the important applications of his work to engineering and economics. With engineering colleagues in Sweden, at the University of Pennsylvania and at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Pang developed techniques for solving multi-rigid-body friction contact problems. These problems arise in the design, analysis and simulation of robotic hands used to grasp and manipulate objects.

Pang received a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the National Taiwan University in 1973. At Stanford University, he earned a master's degree in statistics in 1975 and a doctorate in operations research in 1976. Before joining the faculty at Johns Hopkins, he held academic posts at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Carnegie-Mellon University and the University of Texas at Dallas.