Joshua Faber Headshot

Joshua Faber

School Head

School of Mathematics and Statistics
College of Science

585-475-5115
Office Hours
Mondays 10:30am-noon in the Bates Study Center (GOS-1200); Thursdays 10am-noon in GOS-2334; By appointment: jafsma@rit.edu; Whenever door is open
Office Location

Joshua Faber

School Head

School of Mathematics and Statistics
College of Science

Education

BS, State University of New York at Stony Brook; Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Bio

Dr. Joshua Faber has been a member of the School of Mathematics and Statistics since joining RIT in December 2007, and was appointed to be the Head of the School in the summer of 2022.

He has been a member of the Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation and a Program Faculty member for the Astrophysical Sciences and Technology Ph.D. programs from their earliest days when he joined the faculty and now serves as a Program Faculty member of the Mathematical Modeling Ph.D. program as well. 

Faber has served as the Director and PI of RIT's NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates program in Multimessenger Astrophysics, whose mission includes providing research opportunities to community college students as well as deaf and hard-of-hearing students. He was recognized as a PI Millionaire by the Office of the Vice President for Research in 2021. From 2020-2022, he served as an Operations Officer and an Executive Committee Member of RIT's Faculty Senate.

Working with Prof. David Goldfarb from the University of Rochester, Faber has been a co-organizer since its founding of the Rochester Science Cafe, one of the city's premier venues for free science talks intended for a general public audience.   

He earned his A.A. degree at what was then Simon's Rock College of Bard (now Bard College at Simon's Rock) in Great Barrington, MA, and his B.S. degrees in Physics and Astronomy from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.  In 2001, he earned his Ph.D. in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, advised by Prof. Frederic Rasio.  He worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the latter including three years sponsored by the NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Post-doctoral Fellow (AAPF) program. 

585-475-5115

Areas of Expertise

Select Scholarship

Journal Paper
Beachley, Ryne J, et al. "Accurate Closed-form Trajectories of Light Around a Kerr Black Hole Using Asymptotic Approximants." Classical and Quantum Gravity 35. 20 (2018): 205009. Print.
Lombardi, James C, William G McInally, and Joshua A Faber. "An Efficient Radiative Cooling Approximation for Use in Hydrodynamic Simulations." Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 447. 1 (2015): 25-35. Print.

Currently Teaching

ASTP-608
3 Credits
This course will provide a basic introduction to modern astrophysics, including the topics of radiation fields and matter, star formation and evolution, and stellar structure. This course will provide the physical background needed to interpret both observations and theoretical models in stellar astrophysics and prepare students for more advanced topics and research in astrophysics.
ASTP-790
1 - 3 Credits
Masters-level research by the candidate on an appropriate topic as arranged between the candidate and the research advisor.
ASTP-791
0 Credits
Continuation of Thesis
ASTP-890
1 - 6 Credits
Dissertation research by the candidate for an appropriate topic as arranged between the candidate and the research advisor.
ASTP-891
0 Credits
Continuation of Thesis
MATH-199
1 Credits
This course provides an introduction to math and statistics software. The course provides practice in technical writing.
MATH-220
1 Credits
This course introduces students to the concepts, techniques, and central theorems of vector calculus. It includes a study of line integrals, conservative vector fields, the flux of vector fields across curves and surfaces, Green’s Theorem, the Divergence Theorem, and Stokes’ Theorem. Credit may not be earned for this class if it is earned in COS-MATH-221.
MATH-221
4 Credits
This course is principally a study of the calculus of functions of two or more variables, but also includes a study of vectors, vector-valued functions and their derivatives. The course covers limits, partial derivatives, multiple integrals, Stokes' Theorem, Green's Theorem, the Divergence Theorem, and applications in physics. Credit cannot be granted for both this course and MATH-219.
MATH-305
3 Credits
This course is an introduction to the use and application of scientific computing packages to explore methodologies (graphical, numerical, and symbolic) to study problems arising in undergraduate courses in science, engineering and mathematics. Specific topics include numerical differentiation and integration, optimization, initial value problems, linear systems of equations, and applications in data science.
MATH-498
1 - 3 Credits
This course is a faculty-guided investigation into appropriate topics that are not part of the curriculum.
MATH-799
1 - 3 Credits
Independent Study