Visiting Assistant Professor
Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Colorado Boulder
E-mail: brian.tran@colorado.edu
Photo of the Rosette Nebula
by Steven Tran, used with permission
As of Fall 2025, I am a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Mathematics at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Before my current position, I was a Marc Kac Postdoctoral Fellow in Applied Mathematics at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in the Applied Mathematics and Plasma Physics Group (T-5) and the Center for Nonlinear Studies, mentored by Dr. Ben S. Southworth.
I completed my Ph.D. in Mathematics at the University of California San Diego in 2023, advised by Prof. Melvin Leok, and received a Chancellor's Dissertation Medal and a Powell Dissertation Award for my dissertation. I was an NSF Graduate Research Fellow and ARCS Scholar Fellow.
I am broadly interested in numerical and geometric methods for ODEs and PDEs, and mathematical physics; particular areas of interest include PDE-constrained optimization, geometric mechanics, time integration, scientific computing applications such as computational radiation hydrodynamics, and structure-preserving numerical methods.
Professional Experience
Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Colorado Boulder, 2025 - Present.
Marc Kac Postdoctoral Fellow in Applied Mathematics, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Theoretical Division, 2023 - 2025. Mentored by Dr. Ben Southworth.
Education
Ph. D. in Mathematics with specialization in Computational Science, University of California San Diego, 2023. Advised by Prof. Melvin Leok. Dissertation.
M. A. in Applied Mathematics, Universty of California San Diego, 2019.
B. S. in Mathematics (Highest Distinction) and B. S. in Physics, University of California San Diego, 2017.
Here is my CV (updated August 5, 2025)
My dogs, Dobie and Roxy
At FoCM Paris 2023