Internationally recognized scholars

Joining a long list of celebrated faculty at New Paltz, two computer science professors were recently promoted to the rank of Distinguished Professor, the State University’s highest faculty designation.

Dr. Lawrence A. Fialkow, professor of mathematics and computer science, and Dr. Keqin Li, professor of computer science, have been recognized recently by the State University of New York Board of Trustees for their international prominence in their chosen fields. The award was created to reward scholarship and research among SUNY’s finest and most accomplished faculty.

Fialkow is an accomplished mathematics scholar who has achieved worldwide recognition for his seminal research in functional analysis. He is acknowledged as a founder and international leader in elementary operators and multivariable moment problems and is perhaps best known for his work on the “truncated moment problem,” which asks whether a certain kind of physical or abstract system is determined by its sequence of “moments.”

Fialkow, a 2001 recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence, is also known for the successful integration of undergraduate student research projects supported by National Science Foundation (NSF) grants and by grants from the NSF-funded Alliance for Minority Participation program. He has been a strong advocate for minority and other traditionally underrepresented students intending to major in mathematics, science, engineering and technology.

“Larry is not only a treasured member of our faculty but a world-class scholar who brings great honor to this college,” said College President Steven Poskanzer. “He richly deserves this latest recognition."

Li is an internationally recognized expert for his prolific research and exemplary scholarship in the development of parallel and distributed computing theory – the means by which computational resources are optimized.

The SUNY Board of Trustees noted that Li was “one of the leading international researchers over many years in the areas of embedding, task allocation, performance evaluation, parallel algorithms, optical and wireless networks.”

“The standard of excellence to which Professor Li adheres and his unwavering dedication to advancing knowledge have brought Keqin international prominence and inspired colleagues and students at home and abroad,” said College President Steven Poskanzer. “In every other aspect Keqin has been a treasured member of our academic community, who has made it a point to conduct research with students even as he pursues a world-class scholarly agenda.”