Aaron Lauda

Divisional Dean for the Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Professor of Mathematics

As divisional dean, Professor Aaron Lauda provides critical academic leadership, supporting departments, centers, and institutes in recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty, advancing innovative research, and helping faculty navigate administrative challenges.

Lauda is a distinguished scholar whose research has advanced the fields of mathematics and theoretical physics. His work has introduced significant new ideas about symmetry that are crucial in both areas. By solving a 15-year-old problem, he helped start the field of higher representation theory and created the first example of a complex type of symmetry called a “categorified” quantum group symmetry. Now, he uses these symmetries and advances in topological quantum field theory to explore new, error-resistant methods for quantum computing.

Since joining the USC Dornsife Department of Mathematics in 2011, Lauda has taken on several key roles, including department chair of Mathematics, Dean’s Leadership Fellow in Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and serving on Dornsife’s Committee on Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure. His leadership has been instrumental in advancing academic excellence and fostering innovation both at USC and within the scientific community. Notably, he has directed a Simons Collaboration in Mathematical Physics, managing an $8 million award uniting a consortium of principal investigators from top research universities worldwide. Lauda’s academic career is marked by numerous accolades, including a Sloan Fellowship, NSF CAREER Award, and being named a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society and the Simons Foundation.

Before joining USC Dornsife, Lauda served as Ritt Assistant Professor at Columbia University. He completed his Ph.D. in pure mathematics at Cambridge University and earned his master’s degree in Physics from UC Riverside. In 2021, he was awarded a Doctorate of Science from Cambridge University, the highest degree awarded for distinguished research in science.