Office Location: Olin 1281
Office Phone: 00-1-(909) 607-6019
Email Address: levy at hmc dot edu
Web Page: http://www.math.hmc.edu/~levy
Levy

I am an Assistant Professor in the Mathematics Department at Harvey Mudd College. In 2005, Harvey Mudd College's mathematics department was awarded the first AMS Award for an Exemplary Program. Check out the Notices article .

My research focuses on wave structures in driven thin liquid films. I am interested in applications of mathematical fluid dynamics to biological and industrial problems.  The image in the banner at the top was created with a thin layer of paint sandwiched in and then allowed to spread on paper. The area shown is about 0.25 cm tall.

Summer Program Information

The summer of 2007 was the third year of a summer research experience for Harvey Mudd College undergraduate students in the Applied Mathematics Department at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). This research is supported by NSF grant DMS-0601395, and was supervised in 2007 by Prof. Andrew Bernoff and myself. You can read about the students' research here.

Information about the Harvey Mudd College 2008 Research Experience at UCLA can be found here.

Other information for students:   

Course projects (coming soon):  Final projects from Math 181:  Dynamical Systems

        Letters of Recommendation:  If I am writing a letter of recommendation for you, please submit the information requested here.


Research in Applied Mathematics:
Thin Films and Fluid Interfaces

I am interested modeling the dynamics of thin liquid films. Current research includes:  

I am a member of the NSF Focused Research Group in Thin Films and Fluid Interfaces, an interdisciplinary effort between mathematicians, physicists, and engineers.  We have explored connections between mathematical theory, numerical experiments and physical experiments in fluid dynamics.

Courses taught by Prof. Levy
(current class members can find course information on Sakai)

Spring 2008
  • Math 181: Dynamical Systems


  • Math 13a: Differential Equations I


    • Fall 2007
  • Math 180: Applied Analysis


  • Math 13b: Differential Equations I


    • Spring 2007
  • Vector Calculus (Duke)


  • Advanced Perspectives on High School Mathematics (Duke)


    • Spring 2006
  • Seminar in Fluid Dynamics (Duke)


    • Spring 2005
  • Differential Equations (N.C. State)


    • Students that do well:

    There is no secret formula I can reveal that will guarantee success, but these are a few characteristics that you might want to keep in mind.
    1. Do not miss class.


      2. Top students almost never miss class. On that rare occasion when a top student knows they are going to be absent they are very careful to find out what is scheduled to take place in that class or lab and make arrangements to hand in any work that will be due. On their return they then find out exactly what took place in the class and make up any additional work missed.
    2. Stay on top of the homework.


    3. When confused don't wait to get help.


      4. There will be times during a lecture or while working on homework problems that you will feel lost and confused. After calmly (this is the hard part!) trying to sort out what is confusing and/or giving the concepts a little time to settle, if you still need help, get it.
    4. Learn the concepts.


      5. When you study, don't just memorize the solutions to past problems or old tests. Understand the underlying concepts behind the problems. The tests will contain problems that you have not seen before but if you understand the main ideas of the course you will know how to solve them.

    Organizations

    Harvey Mudd College

    Department of Mathematics
    levy@hmc.edu

    Education

    Dissertation

    Partial Differential Equations of Thin Liquid Films: Analysis and Numerical Simulation
    Advisor: Professor Michael Shearer

    Areas of Interest

    Publications

    Analysis of Homoclinic and Heteroclinic Solutions for Marangoni-driven Thin Liquid Films with Localized Forcing with S. Rosenthal (undergraduate), in preparation.
    Automated Review of Prerequisite Material for Intermediate-Level Undergraduate Mathematics with P. Taylor and M. Shearer, PRIMUS,Volume 17, Issue 2 April 2007 , pp. 167 -180.
    Growing surfactant waves in thin liquid films driven by gravity with T. P. Witelski and M. Shearer, Applied Mathematics Research Express, vol. 2006, no. 15487, pp. 1-21.
    The Motion of a Thin Film Driven by Surfactant and Gravity with M. Shearer, SIAM Journal of Applied Mathematics, vol. 66 no. 5 (2006), pp. 1588-1609.
    Communicating Applied Mathematics: Four Examples with I. Ipsen, D. Finkel, C. Kuster, M. Lasater, and J. Reese, SIAM Review, 48(2):359-389 (2006).
    Kinetics and Nucleation for Driven Thin Film Flow with M. Shearer, Physica D 209 (2005), no. 1-4, 145-163.
    Comparison of Two Dynamic Contact Line Models for Driven Thin Liquid Films with M. Shearer, European Journal of Applied Mathematics 15 (2004), no. 6, 625-642.
    Modeling Control of HIV Infection through Structured Treatment Interruptions with Recommendations for Experimental Protocol with S. Kubiak, H. Lehr, T. Moeller, A. Parker, and E.Swim. NCSU Center for Research in Scientific Computing technical report CRSC-TR01-27, November 2001.

    Professional and Teaching Experience

    Harvey Mudd College


    Assistant Professor (2007-present)


    Instructor, Math 180, Applied Analysis (Fall 2007)


    Instructor, Math 13a, Differential Equations I (Fall 2007)


    Duke University


    Postdoctoral Research Associate, Duke University (2005-2007)


    Instructor, Math 103, Intermediate Calculus (Fall 2006)


    Co-instructor, Math 196S, Seminar in Fluid Dynamics (Fall 2005)


    North Carolina State University


    Graduate Research Assistant, North Carolina State University (2001-2005)


    Instructor, NCSU, MA341, Applied Differential Equations I (Spring 2005)


    Created pilot program to use WebAssign (computer-automated assignments) for review and remediation in MA341, Differential Equations (2004-2005)


    Developed new ways to use a Tablet PC in MA225, A Transition to Advanced Mathematics (2003-2004)


    Carolina Friends School (Durham, NC)


    Upper School Dean (1999-2000)


    Upper School Mathematics Teacher (1997-2001)


    Middle School Teacher (1991-1995)


    SAS Institute (Cary, NC)


    Educational software consultant (1994-1995)


    Duke University Talent Identification Program


    Coordinator, Summer Mathematics Program (1992)


    Editor, Mathegraphics monthy newsletter for mathematics students (1991-1992)


    Mathematics Instructor (1986-1991)


    Durham Public Schools


    Instructional technology training consultant (1993-1995)


    Honors and Awards

    Research Students

  • Stephen Rosenthal, Undergraduate Student, Harvey Mudd College, Supervised summer research project at UCLA in the summer of 2007.


  • Mentoring Ellen Petersen, Graduate Student, NCSU (2006-present), Advisor: Prof. Michael Shearer


  • Caroline Yang, Undergraduate Student, Duke University, (2005-2006) Research project led to publication in Duke University publication: Vertices.


    • Presentations

    Professional Service

    Professional Memberships