Frederic Wan

Wan’s 2019 book Stochastic Models in the Life Sciences and their Methods of Analysis was described by a review for CHOICE as "impressively accessible" and "approachable for biologists at all levels, including those interested in deepening their skills in mathematical modeling and those who seek an overview to aid them in communicating with collaborators in mathematics and statistics."

In 1995, he was appointed Vice Chancellor for Research and Dean of Graduate Studies at UCI. Upon completing his five-year term of these appointments and returning to full-time faculty status in Mathematics in 2000, Wan led a team of research collaborators to develop an Interdisciplinary Gateway Graduate Program in Mathematical and Computational Biology (MCB) in 2007. He then extended similar educational opportunities to undergraduates (by the MCB for Undergraduate Program in 2011) and post-doctoral researchers (by a National Short Course on System Biology in 2010). He served as the Founding Director of these programs with funding support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

In his 1995 book Introduction to the Calculus of Variations and Its Applications, Wan has provided a detailed introduction to the calculus of variations and optimal control. R. Grinnell is of the view that "the author [of the book] is distinguished applied mathematician and his experience in pedagogy is realized through a style of exposition that is lively, personable, and very clear. This is definitely a book to be read and enjoyed."

Wan is the author of 5 books. His book Mathematical Models and Their Analysis, originally published in 1989, was reviewed by W.J. Satzer who wrote that "One of the real strengths of the book is the depth of experience teaching mathematical modeling that the author displays."

Along with academic appointments, Wan also held a number of administrative positions in his career. In relocating to UBC in 1974, Wan also accepted the appointment as the first Director of the new Institute of Applied Mathematics and Statistics. While in Canada, he helped establish the Canadian Applied Mathematics Society and served as its President in 1981-83. He also served as member (1980–82) and Chair (1982–83) of the Committee of Pure and Applied Mathematics of Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the counterpart of the American National Science Foundation (NSF). In 1983, Wan moved to the University of Washington as the founding Chair to establish its new Department of Applied Mathematics. In 1988, he assumed the Divisional Deanship of the Natural and Mathematical Sciences of the College of Arts and Sciences until his temporary assignment in 1992 to serve as the Director of the Division of Mathematical Sciences of NSF. By assuming that position, Wan became the only person to have headed the government civilian funding agency for basic research in pure and applied mathematics in both Canada and the United States.

After receiving his SB at MIT, Wan served as a Research Staff Member at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory from 1959 to 1965. Upon receiving his Ph.D. in Mathematics, he held a postdoctoral appointment as an Instructor of Mathematics at MIT, was promoted to Assistant Professor of Applied Mathematics in 1967, and to Associate Professor in 1969. From 1974 till 1983, he served as a Professor of Mathematics at the University of British Columbia (UBC), but left for the University of Washington (UW) as a Professor of Applied Mathematics. In 1995, he moved to the University of California, Irvine (UCI), as a Professor Mathematics with a joint appointment as Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. From 1999 till 2005, he also held an appointment as Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He retired from his regular faculty position at UCI in 2017 and became Professor Emeritus of Mathematics.

Wan graduated from Garfield High School of Seattle in 1955, and headed for undergraduate study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In his freshman year, Wan pledged and was initiated into the Theta Deuteron chapter of the Theta Delta Chi fraternity at MIT. He received an S.B. degree in Mathematics in 1959 and earned his S.M. and Ph.D. degrees in Mathematics at the same institute in 1963 and 1965, respectively. His doctoral dissertation, "Twisting and Stretching of Helicoidal Shells", was supervised by E. Reissner.

Wan was born in 1936 in Shanghai, China to Olga Jung Wan and Wai-nam Wan. While his parents relocated to Paris France to work in the Chinese Embassy in the same year, Wan grew up in the care of his grandparents and went to school in Saigon and Cholon before he left for Seattle in 1954 as a derived citizen of an American mother.