David Maxwell

David Maxwell is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where he has been on the faculty since 2004. His office is located in Chapman Hall 308C on the Fairbanks campus, and he can be reached at damaxwell@alaska.edu.

He earned his PhD in Mathematics from the University of Washington in 2004.

Maxwell’s research lies at the intersection of differential geometry and partial differential equations, with a primary focus on the mathematics of general relativity. He investigates how distributions of matter determine the possible geometries of the universe, taking into account the ambiguities in defining a global notion of time and the presence of gravitational waves. Additional interests include geometric analysis, inverse problems, and the rigorous study of partial differential equations arising in gravitational physics.

Across his recent publications, Maxwell has concentrated on foundational questions surrounding the conformal method for solving the Einstein constraint equations, demonstrating its equivalence to the conformal thin-sandwich approach and extending these techniques to non-vacuum spacetimes. His work often blends sophisticated geometric insights with careful PDE analysis, contributing to both theoretical understanding and practical construction of physically realistic initial data sets.