Meir Shillor

Meir Shillor is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Oakland University, where he has served since 1988, progressing from Associate Professor to Professor (1993-2015) and ultimately to Distinguished Professor (2015). His extensive academic career includes numerous visiting professorships at prestigious institutions worldwide, including the University of Perpignan (France), Jagelonian University (Poland), Technical University of Warsaw, and the Korea Institute for Advanced Study.

Shillor's research spans multiple areas of applied mathematics with a particular focus on contact mechanics, including dynamic or quasistatic contact problems, friction, wear, adhesion, and thermal effects. His work extends to material damage, piezoelectric materials, nonlinear oscillations, and mathematical modeling of complex societal systems through versions of the HANDY model. More recently, he has made significant contributions to epidemiological modeling, particularly for Chagas disease, MERS, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

His publication record shows a clear progression from fundamental mathematical analysis of contact problems toward increasingly complex real-world applications. The most recent articles demonstrate his continued leadership in contact mechanics while expanding into epidemiological modeling and societal dynamics. His work consistently combines rigorous mathematical analysis with practical applications, often developing novel numerical methods for simulation.

• Oakland University 2002 Research Excellence Award
• Presented the 2013-14 Oakland University Presidents Colloquium - 'The Mathematics of Change'

Professor Shillor has organized significant academic events, including a Round Table on the Future of the Mathematical Theory of Contact Mechanics at the Nonsmooth Problems with Applications in Mechanics conference in Bedlewo, Poland (2023). His international collaborations are extensive, with frequent presentations across Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, reflecting his global impact in applied mathematics.