The focus of the Applied Math department is to educate officers to learn how to think rigorously and logically; I cannot think of a better discipline that can serve this purpose. As a service department, we have the privilege of educating many of the students that come through the doors of NPS and we take this responsibility seriously.  The dedication of our
faculty to this mission facilitates taking students with diverse educational backgrounds to complete a Masters degree in STEM-related fields in a short turn-around time.   

As the new chair of the Applied Mathematics department, I must first recognize all of the faculty who have served in so many roles before me.  My predecessor, Wei Kang served as chair for the past three years until October 1, 2021.  Clyde Scandrett served as the Dean of the Graduate School of Engineering and Applied Science (GSEAS) for the past six years until June 30, 2021.  Ralucca Gera served for three years as the Associate Provost for Education until spring 2021.  I would also like to acknowledge our lecturer Gabriela Stanica who served as the Faculty Council representative until fall 2021; she still serves as the alternate.  David Canright served on the PhD committee until his retirement in fall 2021 and Chris Frenzen served for over a decade until fall 2021.  Finally, Beny Neta served as the program manager for the Scientific Computing certificate until his retirement in fall 2021. Thank you all for your service to the department and our students.