Lia Bronsard to Speak at W&L Bronsard, professor of mathematics at McMaster University, will present her research on nonlocal isoperimetric problems on Oct. 6.

By Emily Innes Stanley
October 2, 2026

Lia Bronsard, professor of mathematics at McMaster University in Ontario, will present her research on “Nonlocal isoperimetric problems: lamellar pattern, lens cluster and a new partitioning problem” at 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 6 in Chavis Hall, Room 105.

The event is free and open to the W&L community.

Bronsard will explore how three competing material phases in a triblock copolymer separate and arrange themselves, introducing a new geometric partitioning problem. Her presentation represents collaborative research with Chong Wang, associate professor of mathematics at W&L; Stanley Alama, professor of mathematics emeritus at McMaster University; Xinyang Lu, assistant professor of mathematics at McGill University; Silas Vriend, a mathematics doctoral student at McMaster University; and Michael Novack, research associate at the University of Texas at Austin.

Bronsard’s research focuses on singularly perturbed variational problems, including interfaces in reaction-diffusion systems, grain boundaries, superconducting vortices and liquid crystal defects. She received the Krieger-Nelson Prize in 2010 and was president of the Canadian Mathematical Society from 2014 through 2016. She served as a Canadian Mathematical Society Fellow in 2108 and an American Mathematical Society Fellow in 2026.

Originally from Québec, Bronsard completed her undergraduate studies at the Université de Montréal and earned her Ph.D. from New York University. Prior to joining McMaster University’s faculty in 1992, she held positions at Brown University, the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, and Carnegie Mellon University.

This event is sponsored by the Department of Mathematics.