Chad Giusti received his Ph.D. in Mathematics at the University of Oregon in 2010 for work on combinatorial models for mapping spaces. He taught at Willamette University, and did postdoctoral work at the University of Nebraska -- Lincoln, and the University of Pennsylvania during which time he transitioned his research focus into applications of algebraic topology to complex systems, particularly those arising in neuroscience. He held a tenure-track position at the University of Delaware, then joined the Department of Mathematics at Oregon State University in 2023, where he was promoted to Associate Professor in 2024.

Research

Chad's research includes aspects of both pure and applied mathematics. He and his research group develop mathematical frameworks for the study of emergent, nonlocal structure in complex systems. These tools are developed in collaboration with domain scientists from domestic and international universities, as well as the US national labs. They are designed and applied to answer specific scientific questions about how, for example, information is encoded and processed by populations of neurons in the brain, the structure of semantics in language affects its acquisition, or resource flow to disadvantaged communities is impacted when infrastructure networks degrade. Mathematically, this work draws upon and extends ideas from the modern mathematical study of shape, topology and discrete geometry, and aim to provide shape-based descriptors for the intricate organizational principles that arise from simple local interactions. Because humans reason well about shape, understanding complex systems at this level of abstraction provides us with powerful tools for interpreting them and interacting with them. This work has been funded by the NSF, AFOSR, and AFRL.

Education

Ph.D. University of Oregon 2010 Mathematics

Research areas