The Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences is pleased to present The Professor Abbas Bahri Excellence Fellowship for Graduate Research in Mathematics established to honor the memory of Professor Abbas Bahri and promote his legacy through support for graduate student research in advanced Mathematics.

A citizen of the world, Professor Bahri was born in Tunis, received his early education in Tunisia before moving alone as a teenager to pursue his higher education degrees in Paris. Professor Bahri taught in Tunis, Paris, Chicago, New York, and taught at Rutgers for three decades. At Rutgers, Professor Bahri received the Board of Trustees Award for Excellence, the highest honor for outstanding research. Known for his teaching and research expertise, Professor Bahri shared his knowledge with colleagues and students at Rutgers and at many academies throughout the world. A strong believer that free rational thinking and scientific advancement transcend cultural differences and can bring peace, progress, democracy, and social justice in the world, and proud of his Arab heritage, Professor Bahri promoted international and cultural exchanges with several countries, and in particular with Tunisia and the Arab World.

Criteria for eligibility –  Awards will be presented to Rutgers and/or international graduate students, enrolled in a Ph.D program or recently graduated from a Ph.D program, in recognition of excellence in research and/or potential research impact of the proposed project. Preferences will be given to projects that promote international exchange among mathematicians, especially those that bring a positive impact to mathematical research in regions where funding for mathematical research is less available. Further preference should be given to graduate students interested in Variational Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations, and in particular the ones Lacking Compactness.

Available funds – Inaugural award – The source of funding for this fellowship derives from the Professor Abbas Bahri Endowment for Research in Mathematics, established by Diana Bahri-Nunziante, wife of Professor Abbas Bahri, under the auspices of the Rutgers Foundation, with contributions from family and friends of Professor Abbas Bahri.

The annual distribution of the fellowship fund is made in accordance with the policy of the Rutgers Foundation, and is estimated about 4,000 USD based on current projections. The aforementioned distribution may be augmented if additional contributions are made to the endowed fund, or may be combined with potential, separate annual gifts of variable amounts.

A special gift is bringing the total available fund for the 2019-2020 inaugural awards to 9,500 USD.

Modes of Award – The award can be made to one or multiple recipients. It is anticipated that the award could support the visit of international students to the Mathematics Department of Rutgers University, New Brunswick, and/or Rutgers students to give presentations or lectures at conferences or workshops, or engage in scientific collaboration; the award can also be given to Rutgers student(s) for carrying out high quality dissertation work locally at Rutgers.

Each year, the number of awardees, and the type and the duration of the support provided will depend on the combined amounts of the actual annual distribution of the endowed fund and the potential separate annual gifts.

Applications for the Inaugural award 2019-2020 are due by April 30, 2019.

Application instructions – Applicants should submit the following documents 

•       Brief Research Statement (2-3 pages on the status and objectives of your research project(s))
•       CV
•       Application Form
•       Visiting international student applicants should arrange to send in two letters of recommendation from mathematicians who are in a good position to comment on their research projects and potential
•       In order for an international visiting graduate student to have a productive research exchange during the visit, we request that external applicants identify one or more of our graduate faculty member(s) as a potential mentor during the visit. The main role of the mentor is to direct the visiting student to appropriate research activities and resources at Rutgers, and to provide general guidance and support; guidance on research projects is encouraged, but is not necessarily assumed due to the short time frame of such visit.
•        We request that external applicants describe potential mentors in their research statement, and we encourage them to directly contact one or more of our graduate faculty member(s) about the mentorship relation. The list of graduate faculty members by research area can be found here:
• https://math.rutgers.edu/research/research-by-area

Applications and Letters of Recommendations should be submitted to the

Awards Committee, Professor Abbas Bahri Excellence Fellowship for Graduate Research in Mathematics

via email to grad-sec@math.rutgers.edu with subject Abbas Bahri Fellowship

or regular mail to

Department of Mathematics, 110 Frelinghuysen Road, Hill Center, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8019, USA

Information for international applicants: The cost for visiting Rutgers varies depending on the type of accommodation one can arrange, which may also depend on the duration of the visit. Some international visiting students have managed with about $2,000 per month to cover their rental and food. We will provide some information on possible local accommodation, and may be able to provide some help in identifying and setting up accommodation. Health insurance is expected, and its cost also varies. The U.S. Consulate may have additional fund requirements for the visa application.