The Department of Post-Graduate studies in Mathematics was established in 1958 under the headship of Prof. M. R. Puri which was later upgraded to the P.G. Department of Mathematics and Statistics when the postgraduate classes leading to M. Sc. Degree in Statistics were started in 1988. Subsequently, the Department of Statistics was established as an independent department in 2004. In 2007, the Department has extended masters programmes in Mathematics at South Campus and in 2010 at Govt Degree College, Baramulla. About 65 students get enrolled at South campus and 45 at GDC Baramulla for M.Sc. Mathematics programme each year.
Over the years, the Department of Mathematics has grown into a center of research both in Mathematics and Statistics where facilities are available for research mainly in the areas of Functional Analysis, Complex Analysis, Graph Theory and Mathematical Biology. Besides a rich collection of books on diverse areas of contemporary research both in Mathematics and Statistics which are housed in the Departmental Library for which the Department has been receiving generous funding from the National Board of Higher Mathematics under the Department of Atomic Energy (Govt. of India). The Department also has a rich Computer Lab. where computing facilities with internet are available for use by the research scholars as well as by the master’s level students. During the M. Sc. Programme, the students are also benefited by the lectures by world-class mathematicians through mathematical videotapes procured from the American Mathematical Society. In terms of collaborative research work and exchange visits, the Department has established academic contacts with certain centres of excellence both in India and abroad such as the International Center of theoretical physics (Itally), the University of Kiel (Germany), University of Montreal (Canada), National Technical University, Athens (Grece), Indian Institute of Technology (Kanpur), Harish Chandra Research Institute (Allahabad), Indian Statistical Institute (Banglore) and the Indian Institute of Technology (Roorkee), Jiwaji University, Gwalior etc.
Earlier the Department has conducted Summer Schools and Refreshers Courses for the benefit of teachers working in universities and undergraduate colleges. A workshop on ‘Partial Differential Equations’ was also conducted in 1984 in collaboration with the DAE-TIFR, which was a huge success.
In the recent past, the Department has conducted many valuable events including the following:
- Teachers training camp for Regional Mathematical Olympiad, September 10-13, 2013
- 3-Day Training programme on mathematical modeling in biological systems, April 2-4, 2015
- Advanced Instructional School on Naïve Set theory, April 13- May 2, 2015
- Research promotion workshop on “Introduction to Graph and Geometric Algorithms”, May 18-20, 2015
- Instructional School for Teachers on Field Theory, May 2-14, 2016
- One-week workshop on Applications of Mathematics, October 5-11, 2016
- Recent Trends in Pure and Applied Mathematics, December 19, 2017.
- 2 Day National Level Workshop on Geometrical Interpretation of Mathematical Concepts, August 28-29, 2018
- Organized 4-Day INMO tranining Camp in collaboration with Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education Mumbai and NBHM, December 17-20, 2018.
- Organized Number of events on Mathematics during 2019-2023 like National Day of Mathematics every year, Emerging Trends on Mathematics, NCM workshop on Discrete Mathematics etc.
- Organized Alumni Meet 2023 and Felicitation function for the superannuated faculty members in October 2023.
- National Day of Mathematics held on December 22, 2023.[Link]
- NBHM-2024 Annual Board Meeting, held on October 9, 2024 & Extension lecture delivered by Prof. Dipendra Prasad, Chairman NBHM. [Link]
The Department has produced more than fifty students who have qualified JRF/NET/GATE/SLET and other competitive examination of national level. A good number of research scholars got awarded M. Phil/Ph.D. degrees under the guidance of Departmental faculty in the research fields, which include Functional Analysis, Complex Analysis, Graph Theory and Mathematical Biology. Presently about 25 scholars are working on various problems leading to Ph.D. programme.