Holl Chair

Children of former mathematics professor establish chair in his honor.

William Holl, Beth Bierbaum, Bruce Holl

The children of Dio Holl, professor of mathematics and chair of the Department of Mathematics at Iowa State University from 1925-54, have established the Dio L. Holl Chair in Applied Mathematics in honor of their father.

The endowed chair has been established through donations by Beth Bierbaum, an Iowa State graduate in 1956, Wellsley Hills, Mass.; Bruce ('50) and Sally ('50) Holl, Savannah, Ga.; and William Holl, '52, Murrieta, Calif., to the ISU Foundation, a private, non-profit corporation dedicated to securing and managing gifts and grants that benefit Iowa State University.

The first recipient of the Holl Chair is Hailiang Liu, assistant professor of mathematics. Liu joined the Iowa State mathematics faculty this fall from UCLA where he was an assistant professor of computational and applied mathematics. Liu will hold the position for the next two years.

Liu earned his Ph.D. from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and has worked in industry in his native China. Previously he was the Alexander von Humboldt Research assistant professor at the University of Magdeburg , Germany.

"We are very grateful for the generosity of Dio Holl's family in establishing this chair in mathematics," said Iowa State University President Gregory Geoffroy. "It is through their commitment that the legacy of their father will continue to help shape the future of Iowa State."

Establishment of the Dio L. Holl Chair in Applied Mathematics is a part of Iowa State's Investing in People initiative. The initiative, a two-year, $50 million fund-raising initiative announced by President Geoffroy, will provide the resources necessary to recruit and retain the brightest and the best students and faculty.

"One of the most difficult and important responsibilities we have is of finding the highest quality new faculty," said Justin Peters, professor and chair of the department of mathematics. "It is our intention to make maximum use of the endowment by rotating the position of the Holl Chair every two years, so that two years from now we expect to be using the endowment to bring in another distinguished young faculty member. This will have a real impact in maintaining and enhancing the reputation of our department."

The Holl gift was made through the ISU Foundation, a private, non-profit corporation dedicated to securing and managing gifts and grants that benefit Iowa State University.