Dr. Mazi Shirvani has been appointed University Canada West’s interim Vice President, Academic.
Dr. Shirvani is a distinguished mathematician who completed both his BSc and PhD degrees at Queen Mary University of London. Following his doctoral studies, he embarked on a postdoctoral fellowship before joining the General Electric Co. of Britain’s Advanced Research Lab from 1985 to 1987, working on neural networks and associative memories.
In 1987, Dr. Shirvani moved to work in academia, joining the University of Alberta’s Department of Mathematics. Over three decades, he dedicated himself to teaching, research and administrative work, including significant labour relations duties. He retired as an emeritus professor in 2018.
Throughout his tenure, he served in various leadership roles, including Vice-Provost and Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research from 2008 to 2015, and chair of the Board of Trustees of the Universities Academic Pension Plan from 2007 to 2009.
His research interests spanned Algebra and Applied Mathematics, with a focus on division rings, linear groups, combinatorial algebra and coagulation theory.
After a hiatus during his decanal term, he returned to the algebraic problem of the classification of finite groups with a projective representation of prime degree over a division ring. The complete solution, likely to run to several hundred pages, will be published as a mathematical monograph.
He has taught a diverse array of graduate and undergraduate mathematics courses, earning recognition such as the Faculty of Science Teaching Award in 2003 and the University of Alberta’s prestigious Rutherford Award.
Dr. Shirvani succeeds Dr. Maureen Mancuso as Vice President, Academic at UCW.
Published on March 25, 2024.
