John Zweck
Title: Professor
Department: Mathematics
Campus: New York City
Area(s) of Expertise: Computational and Applied Mathematics: Nonlinear waves, short-pulse lasers, stochastic particle methods
Education Credentials: Ph.D.
Joined New York Tech: 2025
John Zweck is a professor in the Department of Mathematics. He obtained a B.Sc. with honors from the University of Adelaide, Australia in 1988 and a Ph.D. in mathematics from Rice University in 1993. After several short-term positions, he became an assistant professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where he was granted tenure in 2006. From 2012 to 2024, he was a professor of mathematical sciences and an affiliate professor in the Department of Science/Mathematics Education at the University of Texas at Dallas. He joined New York Tech in 2025.
At UT Dallas, Zweck collaborated with faculty colleagues and over 30 graduate teaching assistants and 60 undergraduate learning assistants on a small group active learning method for the calculus III course he coordinated. While solving problems together in small groups, students learn to communicate mathematics with each other, construct conceptual frameworks that will enable them to tackle future challenges in science and engineering, and grow their ability to learn mathematics for themselves. He also designed a collection of 3D-printed models of curves and surfaces that students use to enhance their conceptual understanding and improve their geometric visualization and problem-solving skills.
Over the last three decades, Zweck's research has ranged from theoretical work in differential geometry and analysis to more applied collaborations on the development of theory, models, and numerical algorithms for the computational simulation of fiber lasers, plasmas, trace gas sensors, and optical fiber communications systems. This combination of theory and applications informs his classroom teaching.
Over the last 25 years, he has been the principal or co-principal investigator on almost $4 million in funding, mostly from the National Science Foundation, that has supported his research and teaching innovations. He has been awarded two U.S. patents, has more than 90 research publications, and received the President's Teaching Excellence Award in Undergraduate Instruction at UT Dallas in 2022. In 2023, he received the University of Texas System Regents Outstanding Teaching Award.
Professional Honors and Awards
- University of Texas System Regents Outstanding Teaching Award, 2023
Courses Taught at New York Tech
- Differential Equations
- Basic Applied Calculus