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Cornell professor to mentor ASU minority students


ASU has recruited a Cornell University professor who says he brings with him a commitment to research and mentoring minority students.

Carlos Castillo-Chavez will join ASU's mathematics and statistics department in the spring.

Castillo-Chavez, a renowned epidemiologist, also is known for his efforts to increase minority student participation in science-related fields. He is leaving a position as a biomathematics professor at Cornell for the job here.

"A lot of people, when they get positions at Ivy League schools, they think that's it ... but that's not everything in life," he said.

The large minority population in Arizona is one of the reasons Castillo-Chavez chose to work here, he said. He added that Hispanic and Native American students tend to be underrepresented in mathematical sciences.

"In some sense, the population I want to help the most is already here ... and people understand cultural issues and want to change the situation," he said. "I've found a very progressive administration at ASU."

Martin Wells, the chairman of the Biological Statistics department at Cornell, said his department was very sad to see Castillo-Chavez go.

"We'll miss his leadership in mathematical biology," Wells said. "He also was important in recruiting minority students to Cornell."

Castillo-Chavez said he hopes to increase the presence of undergraduate and graduate minority students in math and science areas at the University.

Last year there were only 15 minority students working toward doctorates in mathematical sciences, Castillo-Chavez said, a number he aims to double.

"These are small numbers, but with a big impact on the country," he said.

During his tenure at Cornell, Castillo-Chavez founded and directed the Mathematical and Theoret-ical Biology Institute, a program designed to provide research opportunities for undergraduate minority students.

Castillo-Chavez said he wants to start similar research programs at ASU, including collaborations with Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Santa Fe Institute and the University of New Mexico.

In addition to working with minority students, Castillo-Chavez will continue his own epidemiology research at ASU.

He has studied the effects of epidemic diseases and the possible effects of bioterrorism. He currently is finishing a yearlong residency at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

ASU Provost Milton Glick said Castillo-Chavez was "a distinguished mathematician" who has analyzed issues like gang violence and the SARS outbreak using math.

"He brings a sense of energy to the role of mathematics in society," Glick said.

City Editor Noah Austin contributed to this report. Reach the reporter at katherine.j.krzys@asu.edu.


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