As he comes to the end of his time as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, we take a look at the career to date of Dr. Patrick Heslin.
Hailing from Gortletteragh in Co. Leitrim, Patrick spent four years as a student at Maynooth University, completing an undergraduate degree in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics from 2012 to 2015, followed by a master’s degree in Pure Mathematics from 2015 to 2016. During this time he worked as a tutor for both the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and the Mathematics Support Centre. In 2016, after achieving high first-class honours in both degrees, Patrick was jointly awarded the Éamon de Valera Travelling Studentship in Mathematics by the National University of Ireland, alongside fellow Maynooth student Aaron Tyrrell. This special instalment of the award commemorated the centenary of the 1916 Rising and de Valera’s role as the university's second Chancellor. This helped to support his Ph.D. studies at the University of Notre Dame in the United States.
Patrick completed his Ph.D. at Notre Dame in 2021 under the supervision of Prof. Gerard Misiołek. His thesis focused on infinite-dimensional Riemannian geometry and its application to non-linear partial differential equations, particularly the Euler Equations of ideal hydrodynamics, drawing on the geometric framework of Vladimir Arnold. While at Notre Dame, Patrick worked as a tutor and lecturer, earning Notre Dame’s Outstanding Graduate Student Teacher Award in 2020, followed by the Midwestern Association of Graduate School’s Excellence in Teaching Award in 2021 for the doctoral student category. The latter is contested annually across all departments from over 100 major U.S. academic institutions.
After his Ph.D., Patrick spent a year as a postdoc at Florida State University before returning to Ireland having been awarded the National University of Ireland's Dr. Éamon de Valera Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Mathematical Sciences. This again was the only award of its kind in the country. Patrick chose to undertake the fellowship at Maynooth University under the mentorship of Prof. David Wraith.
During his two years at Maynooth, Patrick’s research has flourished, with publications in Mathematische Annalen and International Mathematics Research Notices, two of the world's most prestigious mathematics research journals. Despite being early in his career, he arrived with a strong network of collaborators, which expanded significantly during his time here. In addition to his research, Patrick was heavily involved in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, teaching a final-year module on partial differential equations, helping to run a course for new tutors, and participating in outreach activities.
Patrick will now move to the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences, located in Leipzig, for a two-year postdoctoral fellowship. This new role will provide him with opportunities to build fresh research connections in a vibrant academic setting. We wish him every success and look forward to seeing his future accomplishments, hoping he visits Maynooth often.
