Jong-Shi Pang, a professor in the
Whiting School of
Engineering's
Mathematical Sciences Department, 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 is awarded once every three years and is issued
jointly by the Mathematical Programming Society and the
Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.
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.
Pang, a Hopkins faculty member since 1987, was
recognized not only for 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 and a master's degree in
statistics and a doctorate in operations research from
Stanford University. He has held academic posts at the
University of Wisconsin at Madison, Carnegie Mellon
University and the University of Texas at Dallas.