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Stephen Wirkus

Associate Professor of Mathematics
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
3801 West Temple Ave
Pomona, CA 91768

phone: (909)869-4513
fax: (909)869-4904
e-mail: swirkus "at" csupomona "dot" edu



Information about the Applied Mathematical Sciences Summer Institute (AMSSI), a summer research program for undergraduates from June 17-August 5, 2006 and hosted jointly by Cal Poly Pomona and Loyola Marymount University.
The research conducted at AMSSI is partially supported by grants given by the Department of Defense (through its ASSURE program), the National Science Foundation (DMS-0453602), and National Security Agency (MSPF-06IC-022). Substantial financial and moral support was also provided by Don Straney, Dean of the College of Science at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.


Typos and errata for Swift & Wirkus' A Course in Ordinary Differential Equations. Check out the book at CRC Press.

Cal Poly Pomona Course Info


Math 201 course info (Spring 2007)

Stat 309 course info (Spring 2007)

Should you take me for a course? Search for me in GradeCalPoly.com and decide for yourself...

Information on applying to graduate school: Article 1 (more comprehensive; written by Erika Camacho and me) and Article 2 (written by me)

Information on Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU's) in the Mathematical Sciences

Information about the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) Annual Conference

Research and academic info

I completed my Ph.D. in August 1999 in the Center for Applied Mathematics at Cornell University under the direction of Richard Rand. My other two committee members were John Guckenheimer and Steven Strogatz.

I am interested in the study of nonlinear differential equations and work with both the theoretical and computational aspects. Publications include work on the pumping of a playground swing and the coupling of two van der Pol oscillators with delay coupling (see publication list below). Besides the application of nonlinear ODE's to physical systems, I am also interested in the applications to biological systems. I was Summer Director of the Mathematical and Theoretical Biology Institute (MTBI) at Cornell University in the summers of 1999-2003 with Carlos Castillo-Chavez after having worked as a TA in MTBI the previous 3 summers. I am in a tenure-track position at Cal Poly Pomona. I will be Co-Director of the Applied Mathematical Sciences Summer Institute (AMMSI) beginning in 2005.

Curriculum Vitae(pdf),

Some research projects with undergraduates

Miscellaneous info

Thanks to financial support over the years (graduate fellowships and summer support in graduate school)

  • Ford Foundation Fellowship
  • Corning Foundation Graduate Fellowship
  • Cornell University Anonymous Donor Award
  • National Science Foundation (partial fellowship and support of MTBI)
  • National Security Agency (support of MTBI)
  • Sloan Foundation (support of MTBI)