MSU’s official research website has a few stories splashed on the front page and a list of topics for further reading. These topics range from broad — “Life Sciences” — to rather narrow — “Complex Materials.”

That latter doesn’t act as a descriptor for math, by the way — it refers more literally to “Nanomaterials, biomaterials, composite materials, ceramics, thermoelectric materials and diamond,” among others.

In fact, mathematics is nowhere to be found on this list despite the massive and influential body of research that MSU mathematicians have contributed, and continue to contribute, to the field. Do we not care about math? Or do we just not understand it?

“It is a little more abstract,” said Yang Wang, chair of MSU’s Department of Mathematics. “Their research is more focused in the mathematical science itself.”

This research recently was recognized by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, which awarded three 2011 Sloan Research Fellowships to faculty members in the department. The award, which recognizes the achievements of young — meaning within six years of earning their Ph.D. — faculty researchers in science, mathematics, economics and computer science.

MSU’s three honorees all come from the math field, which Wang called “highly, highly unusual,” especially considering that each department may only nominate three candidates in total. MSU’s sweep beats out the math departments at every other university in the country.

So where’s the fanfare?

Truth be told, achievements in mathematics can be difficult to celebrate simply because they’re not easy to explain. Given a chance, however, math researchers are more than apt at translating their work into relatable analogies.

One of Michigan State’s Sloan winners, Matt Hedden, introduced his work by unraveling a yo-yo. He studies knot theory, which is essentially the mathematical study of the ways in which pieces of string can get knotted up. Hedden was recognized for his contributions to advancing the knowledge behind the set of tools used to analyze knots of high complexity.

Another honoree, Ignacio Uriarte-Tuero, compares his studies of the two-dimensional plane to observing a layer of Play-Doh. You can pull, compress and stretch it only so far before it breaks. Uriarte-Tuero proved a limit for how much stretch can be exerted on a set of numbers, a discovery that has important ramifications within the math community.

“This relates to lots of other things,” he said. “It’s not just simply a game of Play-Doh.”

That’s one of the fundamental misconceptions about mathematics: the notion that it’s all theory, no application. It’s true that math is often put into the service of other disciplines. Any quantifiable research needs numbers, and fields such as engineering and computer science require a high level of mathematical analysis.

Discoveries in mathematics theory often trickle down to these related fields, where they prompt improved methods of looking at data and the development of new technology.

It’s easy to see how these fields can steal math’s thunder: With better methods and tools, researchers in the sciences have opportunities to make the discoveries that we hear about in magazines and on the Internet. The theories that helped them get there tend to get pushed aside.

But mathematics is a branch of research unto itself, and the strides made here open up possibilities for altering the way we look at the world at both its simplest and most complicated levels. As proved by the three recent Sloan Fellowship winners, MSU is a leader in this regard.

The impact of this recognition will be felt in the years to come. A growing reputation on the national scale will help MSU attract more groundbreaking young faculty members, who in turn will raise the department’s standard of excellence even further.

And when one department succeeds, others benefit.

“One part of mathematical research is to make fundamental contributions to mathematics itself,” Wang said. “But there’s another aspect, which is to contribute to the advancement of other disciplines: physics, chemistry, engineering, biology and computer science. The two sides are increasingly interwoven.”

Knotted together in a tight interdisciplinary community, MSU’s research prospects look bright.

As Barbie says, math class may be tough. All the more reason to celebrate those who have braved the field and found success.

Craig Pearson is a State News guest columnist and biochemistry junior. Reach him at pears153@msu.edu.