Dr. Percy Deift

Biography

Percy Deift is a Silver Professor in the Department of Mathematics at New York University. He holds a Ph.D. in Mathematical Physics from Princeton University, obtained in 1977. His academic journey also includes an M.S. in Physics from Rhodes University, South Africa, earned in 1971, and dual M.S. and B.S. degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Natal (Durban), South Africa, completed in 1970 and 1967 respectively. Deift's research primarily revolves around integrable systems and random matrix theory, which encompasses a variety of complex problems such as Riemann-Hilbert problems and spectral theory. He has a particular interest in foundational topics related to integrable systems, including dynamical integrable systems, geodesic flows on ellipsoids, the Toda lattice, the Korteweg–De Vries equation, and the Nonlinear Schrödinger equation. His work often tackles asymptotic questions and long-time behavior of solutions to the Korteweg–De Vries equation, as well as behaviors of random matrix ensembles as the size of matrices becomes large. A key tool in his research is the Riemann-Hilbert Problem, which underpins many of his findings related to nonlinear steepest-descent methods.

Research Interests