Zhiren Wang 王之任


Pennsylvania State Univ., Dept. of Mathematics
308 McAllister Building, University Park, PA 16802

zhirenw(AT)psu.edu

I am an associate professor in the Department of Mathematics at Pennsylvania State University. My research interests include homogeneous dynamical systems, classification of group actions, number theory, and machine learning.

Resume [CV]


• Associate professor, Penn State Univ., 2019-


• Assistant professor, Penn State Univ., 2014-2019


• Gibbs assistant professor, Yale Univ., 2011-2014


• Ph.D. Princeton Univ. (Advisor: Prof. Elon Lindenstrauss), 2006-2011


• M.Sc. Univ. Paris-Sud, 2005-2006


• M.Sc. Ecole Polytechnique, 2004-2006


• B.Sc. Fudan Univ., 2001-2004

Research


• with E. Lindenstrauss and A. Mohammadi, Polynomial effective equidistribution

in preparation

[announcement]


• with W. Huang, J. Wang and Q. Zhou, Quantitative almost reducibility and Möbius disjointness for analytic quasiperiodic Schrödinger cocycles

submitted

[pdf]


• with A. Brown and F. Rodriguez Hertz, Smooth ergodic theory of Zd-actions, Part 3: Product structure of entropy

under revision

[pdf]


• with A. Algom, Arbitrarily slow decay in the Möbius disjointness conjecture

accepted, Ergodic Th. & Dyn. Sys.

[pdf]


• with F. Rodriguez Hertz, Non-rigidity of partially hyperbolic abelian C1-actions on tori

accepted, Ergodic Th. & Dyn. Sys.

[pdf]


• with A. Brown and F. Rodriguez Hertz, Invariant measures and measurable projective factors for actions of higher-rank lattices on manifolds

Annals of Math. (2022)

[pdf]


• with Y. Wang, Three-stage evolution and fast equilibrium for SGD with non-degenerate critical points

ICML (Int. Conf. Machine Learning) (2022)

[pdf]


• with A. Brown and F. Rodriguez Hertz, The normal subgroup theorem through measure rigidity (expository book chapter)

Dynamics, Geometry, Number Theory: The Impact of Margulis on Modern Mathematics (2022)

[pdf]


• with A. Algom and F. Rodriguez Hertz, Logarithmic Fourier decay for self-conformal measures

Journal of London Math. Soc. (2022)

[pdf]


• with A. Algom and F. Rodriguez Hertz, Pointwise normality and Fourier decay for self-conformal measures

Advances Math. (2021)

[pdf]


• with X. He, Möbius disjointness along short intervals for nilsequences

Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. (2021)

[pdf]


• with F. Rodriguez Hertz, On ε-escaping trajectories in homogeneous spaces

Disc. Cont. Dyn. Sys. 25 Years Special Vol. (2021)

[pdf]


• with W. Huang and X. Ye, Measure complexity and Möbius disjointness

Advances Math. (2019)

[pdf]


• with M. Litman, Möbius disjointness for skew products on the Heisenberg nilmanifold

Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. (2019)

[pdf]


• with W. Huang and G. Zhang, Möbius disjointness for topological models of ergodic systems with discrete spectrum

Journal of Modern Dynamics (2019)

[pdf]


• Multi-invariant measures and subsets on nilmanifolds

J. Analyse Math. (2018)

[pdf]


• with A. Brown and F. Rodriguez Hertz, Global smooth and topological rigidity of hyperbolic lattice actions

Annals of Math. (2017)

[pdf]


• Möbius disjointness for analytic skew products

Inventiones Math. (2017)

[pdf]


• with F. Rodriguez Hertz, Global rigidity of higher rank Anosov algebraic actions

Inventiones Math. (2014)

[pdf]


• with U. Shapira, Remarks on Euclidean minima

J. Number Theory (2012)

[pdf]


• with E. Lindenstrauss, Topological self-joinings of Cartan actions by toral automorphisms

Duke Math. J. (2012)

[pdf]


• Rigidity of commutative non-hyperbolic actions by toral automorphisms

Ergodic Th. & Dyn. Sys. (2012)

[pdf]


Quantitative density under higher rank abelian algebraic toral actions

Int. Math. Res. Notices (2011)

[pdf]

Editorial boards


• Discrete and Continuous Dynamical Systems, Series A, 2017-


• Journal of Modern Dynamics, 2020-

Awards and Grants


• Brin Prize in Dynamical Systems, 2022


• von Neumann Fellow, Institute for Advanced Study, 2022


• NSF CAREER grant DMS-1753042, 2018-2023


• NSF grant DMS-1501295, 2015-2018


• NSF grant DMS-1201453, 2012-2015


• AMS-Simons Travel Grant, 2011-2013

Teaching


Undergraduate courses


• MATH 250, Ordinary Differential Equations, Fall 2021


• MATH 250, Ordinary Differential Equations, Fall 2020


• MATH 403, Analysis, Fall 2019


• MATH 312, Real Analysis, Spring 2019


• MATH 403, Analysis, Fall 2018


• MATH 412, Fourier series and partial differential equations, Spring 2018


• MATH 312, Real Analysis, Spring 2017


• MATH 421, Complex Analysis, Fall 2016


• MATH 250, Ordinary Differential Equations, Fall 2014


• MATH 120, Multivariable Calculus, Fall 2013


• MATH 115, Calculus: Integration, Fall 2012


• MATH 246, Ordinary Differential Equations, Spring 2012


• Problem sessions, MAT 317, Complex Analysis, Fall 2009


• MAT 102, Calculus, Spring 2009


Graduate courses


• MATH 597, Dynamical Systems on Nilmanifolds, Fall 2018


• MATH 508, Dynamical Systems II, Fall 2017


• MATH 616, Smooth ergodic theory, Spring 2014


• MATH 614, Diagonal Actions on Homogeneous Spaces, Spring 2013


• MATH 628, Random Walks on Homogeneous Spaces, Spring 2012

Organizing


Global rigidity and classification of actions by higher rank groups, AIM workshop, 2022


• MOU 2021 (Math Online workshop for Undergraduates), 2021


MOU 2019 (Math Outing for Undergraduates), 2019


Penn State Dynamical Systems Seminars, 2016-2018


28th Penn State Workshop in Dynamical Systems, 2017


MOU 2017 (Math Outing for Undergraduates), 2017


27th Penn State Workshop in Dynamical Systems, 2016


Special session on Smooth and Symbolic Ergodic Theory, AMS Eastern Sectional Meeting, 2015