Katharine Long

Katharine Long is a Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Texas Tech University (TTU), where she has served since 2007. Her research focuses on scientific computing, mathematical modeling, numerical methods for partial differential equations, uncertainty quantification, and high-performance computing. She has held prior positions at Sandia National Laboratories, SUNY Brockport, and UMass Amherst. Her work spans interdisciplinary applications in physics, biology, engineering, and medicine, with recent emphases on inverse problems in medical imaging and implicit Runge-Kutta methods for PDEs.

Education: PhD in Astrophysics from Princeton University (1990), BS in Astronomy from the University of Maryland (1986), and coursework at Prince George's Community College (1981-82).

Research interests include numerical optimization, structural sensitivity analysis, astrophysical dynamics (e.g., barred galaxies), and ecological modeling. She collaborates extensively, including with Victoria Howle on computational methods for PDEs and interdisciplinary teams on biomedical applications of infrared thermography.

Teaching spans graduate and undergraduate courses in numerical analysis, mathematical methods for physics, and computational mathematics. She has advised numerous PhD, MS, and undergraduate students, many of whom now hold academic or industry positions.

Labs/Teams: Co-developer of the Sundance and Trilinos software frameworks for PDE-constrained optimization. Active in professional organizations such as SIAM and AWM.