PROMYS Director and Founder
Glenn Stevens is a Professor of Mathematics at Boston University and co-founder of PROMYS (Program in Mathematics for Young Scientists), which he helped launch in 1989. A passionate advocate for mathematical exploration, Glenn has devoted his career to both high-level research and innovative education. Raised in Bakersfield, California, he spent five summers as a student at the Ross Mathematics Program, which profoundly influenced his mathematical development. He studied at the College of Creative Studies at UC Santa Barbara and spent a year at the University of Göttingen in Germany before earning his Ph.D. from Harvard University under the direction of Barry Mazur.
Glenn’s research in arithmetic geometry includes influential work with Ralph Greenberg on the Mazur-Tate-Teitelbaum conjecture and joint projects with Avner Ash on p-adic cohomology, as well as collaborations with Fabrizio Andreatta and Adrian Iovita on overconvergent modular forms. In recent years, his mathematical focus has included p-adic aspects of Hilbert’s 12th Problem.
Alongside his research, Glenn has dedicated himself to mathematics education. In addition to PROMYS, he co-founded PROMYS for Teachers in 1991 with Al Cuoco and helped lead the NSF-funded Focus on Mathematics partnership. His work has created lasting opportunities for students and teachers to engage deeply with mathematics. Glenn considers PROMYS one of his most meaningful contributions and continues to guide its mission of fostering mathematical curiosity, rigor, and community.
