Prof. Edward Lungu Wins Prestigious AMMSI-Phillip Griffiths Prize.

The 2016 AMMSI-Phillip Griffiths Prize awarded to Professor Edward M. Lungu for outstanding contribution to mathematics in the area of mathematical modeling for hydrology, ecology, and epidemiology, with an emphasis on understanding the progression of HIV/AIDS and the treatment of those who have the disease; and for his role in educating and mentoring the next generation of African mathematicians.

EDWARD LUNGU graduated from the University of Zambia in 1975 and received his PhD from the University of Bristol, United Kingdom, in 1981. After several years on the faculty of the University of Zambia, he spent almost 30 years at the University of Botswana, where he rose through the ranks to become a full professor. A year ago he was appointed Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Botswana University of Science and Technology.

Professor Lungu works in the area of mathematical modeling for hydrology, ecology, and epidemiology, with an emphasis on understanding the progression of HIV/AIDS. He has developed curricula in mathematical modeling and mathematical biology, and courses in epidemiological modeling and ecological modeling, benefiting hundreds of students throughout southern Africa. In addition, he has supervised numerous PhD and MSc students.

With Professor Fred Roberts of Rutgers, Professor Lungu initiated the DIMACS US-Africa program, which brought together African and American PhD students. That program accomplished its goal of increasing research output within Africa, and was later replaced by the current and equally successful MASAMU/SAMSA project.

Several international organizations have honored Professor Lungu for his work. In 2011 he was awarded the ICIAM Su Buchin Prize in 2011 for “his mathematical modelling of problems related to Africa and his fundamental contribution to developing teaching, research and organizational structures for applied mathematics in Southern Africa.” He led a group based at the University of Botswana that won a five-year, $400,000 grant from the Simons Foundation in 2013 to run a postgraduate training program for students at the Universities of Botswana, Namibia, Kwazulu Natal, Addis Ababa, and Stellenbosch. Professor Lungu also serves on the Advisory Board for the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS)