Daphne Der-Fen Liu

Daphne Der-Fen Liu is Professor and Chair of the Department of Mathematics at California State University, Los Angeles (College of Natural & Social Sciences), where she has served since 1991. Her affiliations include prior work as a Research Assistant at Academia Sinica in Taiwan. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina and a B.S. from National Central University.

Research Interests: Liu specializes in graph theory and combinatorics, with emphasis on:

• Graph coloring parameters (circular, fractional, list-coloring)
• Distance graphs and connections to number theory
• Radio/antimagic labeling for optimization
• Topological methods in graph problems

Her work is funded by NSF and NASA grants.

Teaching: She developed a graph theory course, employs flipped classroom strategies, and co-leads a U.S. Department of Education grant for pedagogical innovation. Awards include:

• 2015 MAA Distinguished Teaching Award
• 2018 President’s Distinguished Professor Award
• 2003 Outstanding Professor Award
• 2016 Distinguished Women Award

Publications focus on graph labeling/coloring, with recent trends in antimagic labeling for tree-like structures and radio-k-labeling optimizations. She mentors student research but directs no formal lab.