معرفی
Sami Assaf is a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Southern California (USC), where he has been since 2022. Previously, he held positions as Associate Professor (2019–2022) and Assistant Professor (2012–2019) at USC. He was a CLE Moore Instructor at MIT (2008–2011) and an NSF Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Pennsylvania (2007–2008). His academic journey includes a Ph.D. in Mathematics from UC Berkeley (2007) and a B.A. in Honors Mathematics and Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame (2001).
Assaf's research lies at the intersection of symmetric function theory, algebraic combinatorics, representation theory, and algebraic geometry. He investigates polynomial generalizations of symmetric functions such as Schubert polynomials, Demazure characters, and nonsymmetric Macdonald polynomials, often through combinatorial models like crystal graphs and dual equivalence. His work connects these structures to algebraic geometry and probability, with applications to combinatorial positivity and Markov chains.
His recent publications and preprints focus on crystal bases, Kohnert diagrams, and dual equivalence graphs, proving Schur positivity, key expansions, and connections to quantum superalgebras. He has secured significant grants from the National Science Foundation and the Simons Foundation to support his research.
Assaf is recognized for his mentoring, having received multiple Mentoring Awards at USC. He advises Ph.D., Master’s, and occasionally undergraduate students, emphasizing a structured approach to graduate research and a reading course framework. His doctoral advisees have explored topics in Demazure characters, extremal crystals, and shifted tableaux, with post-graduation placements in academia and industry.
