Kenneth M. Golden

Golden’s interest in sea ice began in high school, studying satellite images of Antarctic sea ice with Jay Zwally at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. While majoring in math and physics at Dartmouth College, he worked at the US Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory from 1977 to 1980 with Steve Ackley on measuring sea ice thickness with radar, treating sea ice as a composite of pure ice with brine inclusions. This work led to his 1984 Ph.D. from NYU in Mathematics with George Papanicolaou on the transport properties of composite materials.

Golden studied diffusion processes and quasiperiodic media as a National Science Foundation (NSF) Mathematical Sciences Postdoctoral Fellow with Joel Lebowitz at Rutgers University. As an assistant professor of Mathematics at Princeton University from 1987 to 1991, Golden continued working in mathematical physics, and then moved to the University of Utah as an associate professor in 1991.

As a material, sea ice exhibits complex composite structure on many length scales.{{Cite journal |last1=Golden |first1=Kenneth M. |last2=Bennetts |first2=Luke G. |last3=Cherkaev |first3=Elena |last4=Eisenman |first4=Ian |last5=Feltham |first5=Daniel |last6=Horvat |first6=Christopher |last7=Hunke |first7=Elizabeth |last8=Jones |first8=Christopher |last9=Perovich |first9=Donald K. |last10=Ponte-Castañeda |first10=Pedro |last11=Strong |first11=Courtenay |last12=Sulsky |first12=Deborah |last13=Wells |first13=Andrew J. |date=November 2020 |title=Modeling Sea Ice |url=https://www.ams.org/notices/202010/rnoti-p1535.pdf |journal=Notices of the American Mathematical Society |pages=1535–1555}} Golden’s interests range from the brine microstructure to ice pack dynamics on the scale of the Arctic Ocean, and from sea ice algae to polar bears.{{Cite web |title=KENNETH M GOLDEN - Home - Faculty Profile - The University of Utah |url=https://faculty.utah.edu/u0028785-KENNETH_M_GOLDEN/hm/index.hml |access-date=2024-06-25 |website=faculty.utah.edu}} For example, the fluid permeability of sea ice, which depends on the porous microstructure, regulates the evolution of melt ponds on the surface of Arctic sea ice as well as fluxes of nutrients that fuel algae blooms. Golden and colleagues found that sea ice has a percolation threshold,{{Cite journal |last1=Golden |first1=K. M. |last2=Ackley |first2=S. F. |last3=Lytle |first3=V. I. |date=1998-12-18 |title=The Percolation Phase Transition in Sea Ice |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.282.5397.2238 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=282 |issue=5397 |pages=2238–2241 |doi=10.1126/science.282.5397.2238 |pmid=9856942 |bibcode=1998Sci...282.2238G |issn=0036-8075}} a critical porosity or temperature that must be exceeded for brine pathways to form and fluid to flow, and used percolation theory to accurately predict the permeability.{{Cite journal |last1=Golden |first1=K.M. |last2=Eicken |first2=H. |last3=Heaton |first3=A.L. |last4=Minor |first4=J. |last5=Pringle |first5=D.J. |last6=Zhu |first6=J. |date=August 2007 |title=Thermal evolution of permeability and microstructure in sea ice |url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1029/2007GL030447 |journal=Geophysical Research Letters |volume=34 |issue=16 |pages=1–6|doi=10.1029/2007GL030447 |bibcode=2007GeoRL..3416501G }} The melt ponds determine sea ice reflectance or albedo, a key parameter in climate modeling. As the ponds grow and complexify, they undergo a transition in fractal geometry.{{Cite journal |last1=Hohenegger |first1=C. |last2=Alali |first2=B. |last3=Steffen |first3=K. R. |last4=Perovich |first4=D. K. |last5=Golden |first5=K. M. |date=2012-10-19 |title=Transition in the fractal geometry of Arctic melt ponds |url=https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/6/1157/2012/ |journal=The Cryosphere |language=English |volume=6 |issue=5 |pages=1157–1162 |doi=10.5194/tc-6-1157-2012 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2012TCry....6.1157H |issn=1994-0416}} The 100 year old Ising model, originally developed to understand magnetic materials, was adapted to accurately predict melt pond geometry.{{Cite journal |last1=Ma |first1=Yi-Ping |last2=Sudakov |first2=Ivan |last3=Strong |first3=Courtenay |last4=Golden |first4=Kenneth M. |date=June 21, 2019 |title=Ising model for melt ponds on Arctic sea ice |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1367-2630/ab26db#skip-to-content-link-target |journal=New Journal of Physics |volume=21 |issue=6 |arxiv=1408.2487 |doi=10.1088/1367-2630/ab26db |bibcode=2019NJPh...21f3029M }} These works are improving projections of Earth’s sea ice covers and the ecosystems they support,{{Cite journal |last=Golden |first=Kenneth M. |date=May 2009 |title=Climate Change and the Mathematics of Transport in Sea Ice |url=http://www.ams.org/notices/200905/200905FullIssue.pdf |journal=Notices of the American Mathematical Society |volume=56 |issue=5 |pages=562–584}} and represent principal examples of how statistical physics is contributing to sea ice modeling and prediction.{{Cite journal |last1=Banwell |first1=Alison F. |last2=Burton |first2=Justin C. |last3=Cenedese |first3=Claudia |last4=Golden |first4=Kenneth |last5=Åström |first5=Jan |date=July 12, 2023 |title=Physics of the cryosphere |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s42254-023-00610-2 |journal=Nature Reviews Physics |language=en |volume=5 |issue=8 |pages=446–449 |doi=10.1038/s42254-023-00610-2 |bibcode=2023NatRP...5..446B |issn=2522-5820}}

Golden is interested not only in how the physics of sea ice affects the life it hosts, but in how the presence of life impacts sea ice. For example, sea ice algae secrete exopolymeric substances to help them live in their extreme surroundings. But this alters the brine microstructure{{Cite journal |last1=Krembs |first1=Christopher |last2=Eicken |first2=Hajo |last3=Deming |first3=Jody W. |date=February 14, 2011 |title=Exopolymer alteration of physical properties of sea ice and implications for ice habitability and biogeochemistry in a warmer Arctic |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=108 |issue=9 |pages=3653–3658 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1100701108 |doi-access=free |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=3048104 |pmid=21368216}} and the fluid permeability.{{Cite journal |last1=Steffen |first1=Kyle R. |last2=Epshteyn |first2=Yekaterina |last3=Zhu |first3=Jingyi |last4=Bowler |first4=Megan J. |last5=Deming |first5=Jody W. |last6=Golden |first6=Kenneth M. |date=January 2018 |title=Network Modeling of Fluid Transport Through Sea Ice with Entrained Exopolymeric Substances |url=https://epubs.siam.org/doi/10.1137/17M1117513 |journal=Multiscale Modeling & Simulation |language=en |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=106–124 |doi=10.1137/17M1117513 |issn=1540-3459}} On the other hand, sea ice is locally highly variable. Parameters in models of algal dynamics must be treated as random variables. Such models have been solved using methods of uncertainty quantification.{{Cite journal |last1=Reimer |first1=Jody R. |last2=Adler |first2=Frederick R. |last3=Golden |first3=Kenneth M. |last4=Narayan |first4=Akil |date=September 2022 |title=Uncertainty quantification for ecological models with random parameters |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.14095 |journal=Ecology Letters |language=en |volume=25 |issue=10 |pages=2232–2244 |doi=10.1111/ele.14095 |pmid=36068942 |bibcode=2022EcolL..25.2232R |issn=1461-023X}}

Sea ice microstructure shares similarities with many natural and artificial materials. Modeling sea ice often advances other fields. Examples of this cross pollination include developing new materials with exotic properties such as twisted bilayer composites,{{Cite journal |last1=Morison |first1=David |last2=Murphy |first2=N. Benjamin |last3=Cherkaev |first3=Elena |last4=Golden |first4=Kenneth M. |date=2022-06-14 |title=Order to disorder in quasiperiodic composites |journal=Communications Physics |language=en |volume=5 |issue=1 |page=148 |doi=10.1038/s42005-022-00898-z |bibcode=2022CmPhy...5..148M |issn=2399-3650|doi-access=free }} a theory of electromagnetic transport in polycrystalline media,{{Cite journal |last1=Gully |first1=A. |last2=Lin |first2=J. |last3=Cherkaev |first3=E. |last4=Golden |first4=K. M. |date=February 2015 |title=Bounds on the complex permittivity of polycrystalline materials by analytic continuation |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences |language=en |volume=471 |issue=2174 |pages=20140702 |bibcode=2015RSPSA.47140702G |doi=10.1098/rspa.2014.0702 |issn=1364-5021 |pmc=4309131 |pmid=25663811}} and a novel way of monitoring osteoporosis.{{Cite journal |last1=Golden |first1=Kenneth M. |last2=Murphy |first2=Benjamin N. |last3=Cherkaev |first3=Elena |date=2011-01-11 |title=Spectral analysis and connectivity of porous microstructures in bone |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021929010005956 |journal=Journal of Biomechanics |series=Bone Tissue: Hierarchical Simulations for Clinical Applications |volume=44 |issue=2 |pages=337–344 |doi=10.1016/j.jbiomech.2010.10.029 |issn=0021-9290 |pmid=21094945}}

During his years at the University of Utah, Golden has led several federally funded, multi-disciplinary, multi-institution projects, as well as successful efforts to hire faculty working in the mathematics of materials and related areas. He has mentored over 100 young researchers, from high school and undergraduate to Ph.D. and postdoctoral, with many assisting in field experiments in Antarctica and the Arctic.{{Cite web |title=Kenneth Golden - The Mathematics Genealogy Project |url=https://www.mathgenealogy.org/id.php?id=33192&fChrono=1 |access-date=2024-06-25 |website=www.mathgenealogy.org}} Golden has given over 500 invited lectures on six continents, including four presentations to the U.S. Congress, and won awards for teaching, mentoring, and science communication.

Golden’s research and public lectures have been covered by media around the world, including Science,{{Cite news |last=Mackenzie |first=Dana |date=April 3, 2009 |title=Cold Equations: A Profile of Ken Golden |url=https://www.math.utah.edu/~golden/docs/index/Science_April_3_2009_Golden_Profile.pdf |work=Science Magazine |pages=32–33}} Scientific American,{{Cite web |last=Sloman |first=Leila |date=July 24, 2019 |title=Magnet and Neuron Model Also Predicts Arctic Sea Ice Melt |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/magnet-and-neuron-model-also-predicts-arctic-sea-ice-melt/ |access-date=2024-06-27 |website=Scientific American |language=en}} Physics Today,{{Cite journal |last=Feder |first=Toni |date=29 March 2016 |title=What is a mathematical physicist doing out in the cold? |url=https://pubs.aip.org/physicstoday/Online/12078/What-is-a-mathematical-physicist-doing-out-in-the |access-date=2024-06-27 |journal=Physics Today |issue=3 |page=12078 |doi=10.1063/PT.5.9055|bibcode=2016PhT..2016c2078. }} Popular Mechanics,{{Cite news |last=Bernhard |first=Adrienne |date=June 15, 2023 |title=How Atomic-Scale Geometry Might Shape the Future of Electronics |url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/preview/draft/science/math/a44209885/twistronics-aperiodic-geometry/?content=fd5535b0-57d2-49ef-8097-0a7e1dbdc5c7&type=standard-article |work=Popular Mechanics}} and the BBC.{{Cite web |title=Counting on mathematicians to help save the planet |url=http://stories.council.science/3215434/ |access-date=2024-06-27 |website=Counting on mathematicians to help save the planet}} He’s been interviewed on radio, television, and online, and featured in short films produced by the NSF,{{Cite web |date=January 13, 2014 |title=Multimedia Gallery - Mathematician combines love for numbers and sea ice to forecast melting {{!}} NSF - National Science Foundation |url=https://www.nsf.gov/news/mmg/mmg_disp.jsp?med_id=76378&from=search_list |access-date=2024-06-25 |website=www.nsf.gov}}{{Cite web |date=2015 |title=Discoveries - Video - Join Ken Golden on a Polar adventure as he explores the mathematics of what's going on in sea ice {{!}} NSF - National Science Foundation |url=https://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_videos.jsp?cntn_id=136523&media_id=79690 |access-date=2024-06-25 |website=www.nsf.gov}} the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics,{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzz8iJK0nzo |title=Math Behind Sea Ice & Our Changing Planet |date=September 2017 |last=Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics |access-date=2024-06-25 |via=YouTube}} NBC News, and the University of Utah.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZagWEPgADo |title=A Math Professor in Antarctica? {{!}} University of Utah Climate Change Research |date=2021-02-25 |last=University of Utah |access-date=2024-06-25 |via=YouTube}}

For a math professor, Golden has had some unusual connections to well-known movies. Mathematician John Nash (1928-2015) attended a 1987 lecture on “Nash estimates”{{Cite journal |last1=Golden |first1=K. |last2=Goldstein |first2=S. |last3=Lebowitz |first3=J. L. |date=1988 |title=Nash Estimates and the Asymptotic Behavior of Diffusions |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2244112 |journal=The Annals of Probability |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=1127–1146 |doi=10.1214/aop/1176991680 |jstor=2244112 |issn=0091-1798}} that Golden gave at Princeton. After that the two met periodically over the next several years. Nash later won the 1994 Nobel Prize in Economics and became the subject of the Academy Award winning film “A Beautiful Mind.” Savant Kim Peek (1951-2009) of Salt Lake City, the inspiration for the 1989 Oscar winner “Rain Man,” appeared with Golden in two TV shows (in the US and Japan), working on math problems together. In another twist, a San Diego Tribune article{{Cite web |last=Brennan |first=Deborah Sullivan |date=2013-01-11 |title=Mathematician stepping on thin ice |url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2013/01/11/mathematician-stepping-on-thin-ice/ |access-date=2024-06-25 |website=San Diego Union-Tribune |language=en-US}} about Golden’s Porter Public Lecture at the 2013 Joint Math Meetings recounted a few of his dangerous polar experiences. It noted that he was “a kind of mathematical Indiana Jones,” which was echoed in a Scientific American article{{Cite web |last=Giller |first=Geoffrey |date=March 13, 2014 |title=Mathematical Patterns in Sea Ice Reveal Melt Dynamics |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/observations/mathematical-patterns-in-sea-ice-reveal-melt-dynamics/ |access-date=2024-06-25 |website=Scientific American |language=en}} about his 2014 public lecture at the Museum of Mathematics in New York City.

• 1981 – 84 Hertz Foundation Fellow, NYU
• 1989 Excellence in Teaching Award, Princeton Engineering Council, Princeton University
• 1996 Fellow of the [https://emacademy.org/ Electromagnetics Academy] for “extraordinary accomplishments in electromagnetics”
• 2007 University of Utah [https://www.math.utah.edu/~golden/docs/awards/Golden_Teaching_Award_Citation_May_2007.pdf Distinguished Teaching Award]
• 2009 SIAM Invited Address, Joint Math Meetings (AMS-MAA-SIAM), Washington D.C.
• 2010 [http://paocweb.mit.edu/events/history-of-houghton-lectures Houghton Lecturer], Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, MIT
• 2011 Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) for “extraordinary interdisciplinary work on the mathematics of sea ice”
• 2012 Myriad Faculty Award for Research Excellence, for fostering undergraduate research and providing learning experiences for students, University of Utah
• 2012 University of Utah [https://www.math.utah.edu/~golden/docs/awards/Golden_DSCR_Award_Citation_May_2012.pdf Distinguished Scholarly & Creative Research Award]
• 2013 AMS-MAA-SIAM [https://www.ams.org/meetings/lectures/porter-lect Porter Public Lecture], Joint Mathematics Meetings, San Diego
• 2013 Guest of Honor, Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques (IHÉS) Gala, Mathematics: Mind of the Earth, hosted by the French Ambassador to the US, Pierre Hotel, New York City
• 2013 Inaugural Fellow of the American Mathematical Society
• 2014 United States Coast Guard Arctic Service Medal
• 2014 Fellow of the Explorers Club
• 2022 – 24 Inaugural Recipient of the University of Utah [https://science.utah.edu/news/societal-impact-scholar/ Presidential Societal Impact Scholar Award]
• 2023 Calvin S. and JeNeal N. [https://www.math.utah.edu/about/news/ken-golden-hatch-prize.php Hatch Prize in Teaching], University of Utah

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