Steven Rayan accepts College of Arts and Science interim research leadership role

Dr. Steven Rayan (DPhil) has been appointed interim vice-dean research, scholarly and artistic work (RSAW) in the University of Saskatchewan (USask) College of Arts and Science for a one-year term.

The vice-dean RSAW is a core member of the college’s leadership team and a liaison between the college and the USask Office of the Vice-President Research. Rayan, a professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, will begin his appointment on July 1, 2025, when Dr. Bram Noble (PhD) completes his term as vice-dean RSAW.

Rayan, who also directs the USask Centre for Quantum Topology and Its Applications (quanTA), obtained his Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Oxford in 2011 and joined USask as a faculty member in 2016. Prior to his USask appointment, he spent five years as a research fellow at the University of Toronto.

Rayan is a world-leading expert in algebraic geometry and topology, mathematical physics, quantum computing, and novel forms of quantum matter. His research has been continuously funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, as well as the New Frontiers in Research Fund and the Canada Foundation for Innovation.

International honours for Rayan have included an Ethel Raybould Fellowship in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Queensland, a PIMS-CNRS Europe Fellowship from the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences and France's Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, and the Cozzarelli Prize top finalist recognition from the US National Academy of Sciences.

Rayan has extensive administration and leadership experience, having served as the director of interdisciplinary programming for the College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at USask for three years, and chairing the USask RSAW Committee for two years. He is also chair of the College of Arts and Science’s RSAW Steering Group and the Committee of Interdisciplinary Program Chairs, and is a highly respected graduate student supervisor.

At USask, Rayan has been the recipient of both the College of Arts and Science New Scientist Research Award and the university's New Researcher Award, along with several teaching awards.