David Radnell

Current

2019–present ·  Aalto Science Institute, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland

• Coordinator (Operational Lead, reporting to the Vice Dean for Research) 

• Director, International Summer Research Programme 

2018–present ·  Department of Mathematics and Systems Analysis, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland

• • Academic Coordinator (reporting to the Head of Department)

Previous

2015–2017 · Department of Mathematics and Systems Analysis, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland

• • Researcher, 2017 - 2018  (In Kalle Kytölä's group within the Mathematical Physics Research Area.)

  • Visiting professor, 09.2015 - 12.2016

2006–2015 · Department of Mathematics and Statistics, American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (If you are curious, here is a video)

• • Granted tenure in 2012  (emulated tenure due to residency laws).

  • Associate Professor, 2011 - 2015

  • Assistant professor, 2006 - 2011

08.2004–08.2005 · Max Plank Institute for Mathematics, Bonn, Germany

• • Postdoctoral Visitor 

2003–2006 · Department of Mathematics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

• • Hildebrandt Assistant Professor

  • Interacted mostly with the late Juha Heinonen and the analysis group. 

  • Spent the 2004-5 academic year on leave at the MPIM.

1997–2003 · Department of Mathematics, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

• • PhD student

  • Advisor: Yi-Zi Huang

  • Thesis: Schiffer variation in Teichmueller space, determinant line bundles and modular functors.

  • Also took a lot of courses on vertex operator algebras from Jim Lepowsky. This was the major topic of my oral qualifying exams. 

1996–1997 · School of Mathematical Sciences, Adelaide University, Australia

• • PhD program (was enrolled for 18 months before going to the USA).

  • Advisor: Alan Carey

  • Topic: Fractional quantum hall effect. Rigorous techniques using functional analysis, loop groups, and the boson-fermion correspondence. 

1992–1995 · Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Queensland, Australia

• BSc (3 yrs) + honours (1yr). (Mathematics and a lot of physics)

• Advisor: Tony Bracken 

• Thesis: "Quasi-exactly solvable models in quantum mechanics". These models are ones in which a finite part of the spectrum can be found exactly. The Hamiltonians are built from differential operators whose Lie algebra has a finite-dimensional representation. Here is a short review article by Peter Olver. The field is still active.  

I have extensive experience working in highly international academic environments and developing international programs. 

At Aalto University I play a significant role in internationalization though my work at the Aalto Science Institute (AScI). The mission of AScI is “…advancing international collaboration and research in science and technology at the highest level.” As Director and hands-on lead of the AScI International Summer Research Programme, I am particularly proud to have grown it into one of the most competitive and attractive programmes of its kind in Europe. 

• In 2026, from 5,500 applicants studying in 133 countries, 70 students from 27 countries participated in the programme, working as full-time researchers in  groups across Aalto for a three-month period. Many of the  students come from top universities such as Princeton, Oxford, ETH, and IIT Bombay. 

• As AScI Coordinator, I manage two additional programs:

• Visiting scientists — funding approximately 30 international research visits to Aalto per year, from PhD students to professors

• Conference support

When I joined  the American University of Sharjah (UAE) in 2006 it was only 9 years old. I stayed there until 2015, and during this time it was ranked as one of the world’s most internationally diverse universities. Being at a new university in a young and dynamic country, I was continually involved in institution building. A small selection of examples follows.

• The mathematics department grew from 14 to 31 faculty members during my nine years there. I chaired or served on the hiring committee most years, hiring 17 faculty from instructors to associate professors.

• I helped develop the undergraduate degree in mathematics and launch the UAE’s second master’s degree in mathematics. This included programme and curriculum design as well as accreditation at the university and national level. 

•  I co-founded a large international mathematics conference series that was the first of its kind in the UAE. The conference was supported by the American Mathematical Society and recently had its 4th iteration (ICMS25). 

• I founded the AUS Undergraduate Mathematics Club and served as its advisor for seven years. 

• At the broader university level I served on the budget and finance committee of the university senate. 

As Academic Coordinator of the Department of Mathematics and Systems Analysis, I have a broad role in the day-to-day running of the department, keeping its teaching, research, and other academic activities running smoothly. I also handle a wide range of internal and external communications and act as an interface between the department and university administration, helping to resolve administrative issues and allowing faculty to focus on their academic work. The role involves working across virtually all aspects of departmental activity and dealing with whatever needs to be done to keep the show on the road. Some examples: 

• Jointly with HR I  recruit and assign over 100 teaching assistants each semester. 

• I am responsible for the Mathematics Tutoring Centre

• In 2022 I was the Scientific Chair and lead local organizer of the 28th Nordic Congress of Mathematicians.

My experience as a professor gives me a good understanding of the needs and concerns of the researchers and teachers I work with. At the same time, my experience working with university leadership and administration gives me an understanding of the institutional perspective and of the constraints within which they operate. This combination allows me to work effectively between academic staff and university administration.

My research interests lie at the interface of conformal field theory, complex analytic Teichmueller theory, and geometric function theory. This work is partly motivated by the program of using vertex operator algebras to rigorously construct conformal field theory in the sense of G. Segal. I have also been involved in a project on algebraic structures and random geometry of stochastic lattice models.

Key Terms: Teichmüller and moduli space theory or bordered Riemann surfaces. Mathematical foundation and construction of conformal field theory. Geometric function theory. Vertex operator algebras. Rigged Riemann surfaces, Weil-Petersson metric, quasiconformal mappings, sewing / gluing, conformal welding, Schiffer variation, determinant line bundles, and modular functors. Ising model.

COLLABORATORS

• Taha Ameen, Carnegie Mellon University

• Yi-Zhi Huang, Rutgers University

• Kalle Kytölä, Aalto University

• Sung Chul Park, Helsinki University 

• Eric Schippers, University of Manitoba

• Mohammad Shirazi, University of Manitoba

• Wolfgang Staubach, Uppsala University

PUBLICATIONS

(Click here for the institutional publication list with full-text of the published versions )

(17) Slit-strip Ising boundary conformal field theory 1: Discrete and continuous function spaces, with Taha Ameen, Kalle Kytölä, and S.C. Park, Mathematical Physics Analysis and Geometry, 25(4), 1-53. arXiv:2009.13624

(16) Schiffer Operators and Calculation of a Determinant Line in Conformal Field Theory, with E. Schippers, M. Shirazi, and W. Staubach, New York J. Math., 27 (2021), 253--271

(15) A model of the Teichmüller space of genus-zero bordered surfaces by period maps, with E. Schippers and W. Staubach. Conform. Geom. and Dyn., 23 (2019), 32--51.  arXiv:1710.06960

(14) Dirichlet space of domains bounded by quasicircles, with E. Schippers and W. Staubach. Commun. Contemp. Math. 22 (2020) no. 3, [22 pages].   arXiv:1705.01279

(13) Quasiconformal Teichmüller theory as an analytical foundation for two dimensional conformal field theory, with E. Schippers and W. Staubach, in Lie Algebras,  Vertex Operator Algebras, and Related Topics, Contemporary Mathematics, vol. 695, Amer. Math. Soc., Providence, RI, 2017, pp. 205-238. ed. K. Barron, E. Jurisich, H. Li, A. Milas, K. C. Misra, arXiv:1605.00449

(12) Convergence of the Weil-Petersson metric on the Teichmüller space of bordered Riemann surfaces, with E. Schippers and W. Staubach, Commun. Contemp. Math. 19 (2017) no. 1, [39 pages]

(11) Quasiconformal maps of bordered Riemann surfaces with L^2 Beltrami differentials, with E. Schippers and W. Staubach, J. Anal. Math., 132 (2017), issue 1, 229--245

(11 + 12) A convergent Weil-Petersson metric on the Teichmüller space of bordered Riemann surfaces,  with E. Schippers and W. Staubach, arXiv:1403.0868 

The material from these two papers form part of this preprint (which may contain inessential errors).

(10) The number of symmetric colorings of the dihedral group Dp, with J. Phakathi and Y. Zelenyuk, Appl. Math. Inf. Sci. 10, (2016) no. 6, 2373-2376.

(9) Dirichlet problem and Sokhotski-Plemlj jump formula on Weil-Petersson class quasidisks, with E. Schippers and W. Staubach, Ann. Acad. Sci. Fenn. Math. 41 (2016), 119--127

(9 + 14) Dirichlet space of multiply-connected domains with Weil-Petersson class boundaries, with E. Schippers and W. Staubach, arxiv:1309.4337.

The preprint contains the material from (9) and part of the material from (14).

(8) A Hilbert manifold structure on the Weil-Petersson class Teichmüller space of bordered Riemann surfaces, with E. Schippers and W. Staubach, Commun. Contemp. Math. 17 (2015), no. 4, [42 pages] 

(7) Weil-Petersson class non-overlapping mappings into a Riemann surface, with E. Schippers and W. Staubach, Commun. Contemp. Math. 18 (2016) no. 4, [21 pages]

(7 + 8) A Hilbert manifold structure on the refined Teichmüller space of bordered Riemann surfaces, arXiv:1207.0973.

The material from these two papers forms this preprint (which may contain inessential errors). The notation in the published versions has been updated to reflect the usage in (11) and (12). 

(6) The semigroup of rigged annuli and the Teichmüller space of the annulus, with E. Schippers,  J. Lond. Math. Soc. 86 (2012), no 2, 321--342. arXiv:1001.5211

(5) Fiber structure and local coordinates for the Teichmüller space of a bordered Riemann surface, with E. Schippers,  Conform. Geom. and Dyn. 14 (2010), 14--34. arXiv:0906.3279

(4) A complex structure on the set of quasiconformally extendible mappings into a Riemann surface, with E. Schippers, J. Anal. Math. 108 (2009), no. 1, 277--291. arXiv:0803.3211

(3) A complex structure on the moduli space of rigged Riemann surfaces, with E. Schippers,  J. Geom. Symmetry Phys. 5 (2006), 82--94. arXiv:math-ph/0512080

(2) Quasisymmetric sewing in rigged Teichmuller space, with E. Schippers, Commun. Contemp. Math. 8 (2006) no. 4, 481--534. arXiv:math-ph/0507031

(1) Schiffer variation in Teichmüller space, determinant lines bundles and modular functors. 1--163, PhD Thesis, Oct 2003,  Rutgers University, NJ, USA.

STUDENTS

Mohamed Serry, MSc in mathematics, American University of Sharjah, 2017

Academic Mentor during his BSc and MSc.

Postdoc at the University of Waterloo, Canada.

Hussain Ibdah, BSc in mathematics, American University of Sharjah

Thesis title “Synchrony in Pulse Coupled Oscillators”, 2014

PhD, Texas A&M University, 2021

Postdoc at UC Riverside

Hamid Sagban, BSc in mathematics, American University of Sharjah. 

Thesis title “Mapping Class Groups”, 2013.

PhD, University of Maryland, 2021

Postdoc at Universität Paderborn

Reem Alawdah, BSc in computer science, American University of Sharjah

Project “Virtual Origami” (joint supervision). 2011

Computer Scientist and Artist.

Jacob Bernstein, Research Experience for Undergraduates, University of Michigan.

Project title “A Teichmüller-like space for Riemann surfaces with parameterized boundaries”, 2004.

Associate professor at Johns Hopkins University.

I believe it is important for mathematics departments to take mathematics beyond the university. I have been actively involved in outreach to schools and their students  throughout my academic career. 

For example, at the American University of Sharjah I was a co-founder of a mathematics competition series for school students and teachers, which developed into an ongoing programme. In Finland I have engaged in school visits, mathematics camps, competitions, and extracurricular activities such as an after-school mathematics club for elementary school students. For many years I have lead the organization of the annual Aalto Math Camp for high school students.

Links: 

• Aalto Math Camp — 2017–present, main organizer

• Scientists in Schools — 2016–present

• TET (work experience) — 2015–present, host middle school students for 1–2 week work experience

• Open Otaniemi (formerly Aalto Family Day) — 2025, 2022, organized math activities for all ages

• RVTHV–MPC Science Olympics — 2023, 2017, wrote the math competition questions when it was held in Finland

• International Day of the Girl — 2019, organized math activities at the Heureka Science Centre

• EIS Math Club — 2017, founded a primary school after-school math club

• AUS MathFest — 2014, co-founded an annual competition for students and teachers across the UAE, still running today