Here at the College of Sciences and Humanities, we love to highlight the new faculty members joining our team. Dr. Siyang Tao is a new assistant professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences. Dr. Tao’s area of research lies in the actuarial sciences.

What is your journey to Ball State?

I got my PhD. in actuarial science from the University of Iowa. Before that, I received my master’s degree in statistics from the University of Iowa in 2016 and my master’s degree in probability and random models from Pierre and Marie Curie University (Paris VI) in 2013. I received my bachelor’s degrees both in math from the University of Picardie Jules Verne and Huazhong University of Science and Technology in 2010.

What are your research and teaching interests?

My research has so far been focused on the sub-area of tail dependence within extreme value theory. More specifically, I have explored the realization problem of the Tail Dependence Matrix (TDM) and the subsets of TDMs that can be generated by commonly used copula families. This research has required the use of tools and concepts from probability theory and quite a few related fields including combinatorics, computational complexity theory, graph theory, group theory, matrix analysis, and optimization theory.

I will teach several high division undergraduate and graduate courses on actuarial science in the first year. I hope my students will like my teaching style and lecture notes.

What do you like to do in your free time? 

I like playing “Go” (a strategic board game) and contract bridge.

To learn more about the Department of Mathematical Sciences and its programs, please visit their website. To stay up to date on news and events, follow them on Facebook or visit their blog. For questions, please email the department at mathsci@bsu.edu.