Stacy Hoehn Recieves Shaheen Graduate School Award

Stacy Hoehn is one of four doctoral candidates who are receiving the 2009 Eli J. and Helen Shaheen Graduate School Awards who will be recognized at the Graduate School commencement ceremony on May 16 in the Joyce Center.

In her first year of graduate studies in mathematics, Hoehn received a prestigious three-year Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation (NSF). She also won the Department of Mathematics’ Richard Sady Prize for best performance in the first-year courses. Her work has attracted the attention of researchers both at Notre Dame and elsewhere. She has been invited to deliver talks on her area of expertise at five other institutions and has given eight talks at seminars at the University.

Hoehn’s research and dissertation focus on geometric topology, which involves investigating mathematical objects, called high-dimensional manifolds, that do not have boundaries. In her dissertation, she solved a problem related to a theory of higher order algebraic K-theory that had puzzled mathematicians for many years.

Hoehn has been awarded an NSF postdoctoral fellowship to study at Vanderbilt University. She is the first Notre Dame mathematics student to win this highly prestigious award.
Named in honor of a Notre Dame alumnus and his wife, the award recognizes the top graduating doctoral degree recipients in the humanities, social sciences, science and engineering. Nominated by their departments, the Shaheen Award winners are chosen for their superior ability as exhibited by grades, research, and publication records, fellowships and other awards received during the course of study at Notre Dame, as well as teaching ability.