Carnegie Mellon University
June 01, 2012

Press Release: Tom Bohman Receives Alexander M. Knaster Professorship as Head of Mathematical Sciences

Contact: Jocelyn Duffy / 412-268-9982 / jhduffy@andrew.cmu.edu

Tom BohmanPITTSBURGH—Tom Bohman, professor and head of the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University, has been named the Alexander M. Knaster (E'80) Professor in recognition of his leadership of the department.

"Tom has many qualities that make him an excellent teacher and scholar. His ability to work with others to achieve their highest potential will serve him well as he takes on the leadership of the Department of Mathematical Sciences," said Fred Gilman, dean of the Mellon College of Science (MCS).

Bohman joined the CMU faculty in 1998 as an assistant professor and became a full professor in 2009. His research focuses on combinatorics, a branch of mathematics concerning the study of finite structures. Combinatorics has many applications in a variety of fields including computer science, optimization and network science. He has published more than 40 papers in the scientific literature, has served as an associate editor for the Journal of Combinatorics and the SIAM Journal on Discrete Mathematics, and has served on the editorial board of Advances in Applied Mathematics.

Bohman earned his bachelor's degree in mathematics at the University of Dayton and his doctoral degree in applied mathematics from Rutgers University. He completed a postdoctoral appointment at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley, and a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

CMU alumnus Alexander M. Knaster, a native of Moscow, is chairman and CEO of Pamplona Capital Management, an investment management firm. Prior to founding Pamplona, Knaster served as CEO of Alfa Bank in Russia and as general director of Sidanco, Russia's seventh-largest oil company. He earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and mathematics at Carnegie Mellon in 1980, and went on to earn a doctorate in economics from the Russian Academy of Science and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Knaster, who established the professorship in 2006, continues to support Carnegie Mellon students and faculty. In 2010, Knaster, along with MCS alumnus Bruce McWilliams and his wife Astrid, created the Knaster-McWilliams Scholarship and Scholars Program to attract and support exceptional undergraduate students in mathematical sciences. 

###

Tom Bohman, professor and head of Carnegie Mellon's Department of Mathematical Sciences, has been named the Alexander M. Knaster (E'80) Professor. His research focuses on combinatorics, a branch of mathematics concerning the study of finite structures.