Dr. Magdalena Toda

Research Interests

Differential Geometry, Geometric PDE, Variational Calculus, Curvature Functionals and their applications

Biography

Dr. Magdalena Toda built an extensive 25-year academic career at Texas Tech University (TTU), serving as an Assistant Professor from 2001 to 2007, achieving tenure as an Associate Professor from 2008 to 2014, and earning promotion to Full Professor in 2014. Her research bridges pure and applied mathematics, with a focus on differential geometry, integrable systems, variational calculus, curvature functionals (e.g., generalized Willmore energies and p-Willmore energies), and geometric partial differential equations (PDEs). She applies these frameworks to fluid mechanics, particularly nonlinear fluid flows; biophysics, including the geometry of protein folding and biological membranes; and two- and three-dimensional geometric image analysis.

From 2022 to 2023, she expanded her leadership experience at the federal level by serving as a Program Director for Applied Mathematics at the National Science Foundation (NSF). After a decade of service as the Department Chair of Mathematics and Statistics at Texas Tech University (2015–2025), Dr. Toda transitioned to Missouri State University to serve as Dean of the College of Natural and Applied Sciences (CNAS), effective July 1, 2026.