WATERLOO - The University of Waterloo and one of its more notable alumnae will recognize the significant contributions of a senior leader by awarding him a named university research chair.

Waterloo is awarding Thomas Coleman, current dean of the faculty of mathematics, the Ophelia Lazaridis University Research Chair. When he assumes the chair on July 1, 2010, after his decanal term ends, Coleman will join one of the world's leading research groups in optimization theory and methodologies, based in Waterloo's department of combinatorics and optimization.

"Tom Coleman has proven himself an outstanding academic, whether he's teaching, conducting research or leading the faculty of mathematics," said Ophelia Lazaridis, a graduate of the class of 1985. "It is my pleasure to recognize his many contributions by supporting his research efforts in this manner."

Coleman and his research team will develop efficient and high-performance algorithms and approaches to large-scale and global optimization problems. The work will have numerous applications in such areas as engineering design, medical imaging, protein folding and conformation, resource allocation problems and computational finance.

Lazaridis, a graduate of Waterloo's faculty of mathematics, is providing $980,000, over seven years. With additional funding from the university, the chair is worth $3-million over the full term. The funds will support Coleman's research efforts involving students, postdoctoral fellows and visiting researchers in the faculty.

"As a Waterloo graduate of mathematics, Ophelia Lazaridis understands the value of research in our faculty," said Coleman. "Her generous and continued support of our activities is always welcome, but especially and personally so in this particular instance."

Waterloo owes much of its success and reputation to the quality of its professors and their scholarly accomplishments. The university recognizes exceptional achievement and pre-eminence in a particular field of knowledge by designating a scholar a university research chair. No more than five such designations are made in any given year and each can last up to seven years. The Lazaridis chair is Waterloo's first named university research chair.

"Tom Coleman is precisely the sort of scholar who should be receiving this designation," said Feridun Hamdullahpur, vice-president, academic and provost. "Prior to coming to Waterloo as dean of mathematics, he developed a highly successful research program and a network of partnerships that could help move his program forward. His designation as university research chair recognizes his significant success in research."

Coleman joined Waterloo as dean of mathematics in July 2004. He came from Cornell University, where he was a professor of computer science and applied math as well as director of a research centre. He received his doctorate from Waterloo in 1979. He currently serves as interim director of WatRISQ, a Waterloo centre established in 2004 (and renamed in 2009) to conduct research and advanced training in quantitative finance and risk management.