Leadership

Dean of the School of Natural Sciences

Lou Rossi is a mathematician who joined UC Merced in August of 2026 as dean of Natural Sciences. Prior to joining UC Merced, he was the professor and chair of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Delaware and later the inaugural Dean of the Graduate College and Vice Provost for Graduate and Professional Education. Dr. Rossi holds a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Arizona, a master’s in mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree from Harvey Mudd College.  As a mathematician, Dr. Rossi studies partial differential equations and numerical methods, especially for the mathematical equations governing fluid flows and swarms. He has broad interests but is particularly interested in vorticity dynamics and the collective behavior of simple organisms like ants and plankton. His research has been published in SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics, SIAM Journal on Scientific Computing, Journal of Computational Physics, Physics of Fluids, and Journal of Theoretical Biology among others. His work has been funded by grants from the National Science Foundation, the US Army, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.