RIP Erik Bollt (1967–2025)

My collaborator Erik Bollt died suddenly and unexpectedly last Sunday (the 7th). Erik is a well-known applied mathematician, and he was especially in the applied dynamical-systems community. Erik and I wrote two papers together, including our paper on mathematically modeling cow synchronization.

You can read about Erik's research on his web page and his Google Scholar page.

There will be a memorial article at some point.

Jeff Kent Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame!

Second baseman Jeff Kent has been elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame by the Era Committee (which is the current version of the Veterans Committee. I am pleased that Kent is finally in the Hall.

Carlos Delgado did surprisingly well in the voting, so it sounds like he'll eventually make the Hall of Fame. Notably, Dale Murphy and Don Mattingly did not get enough votes (despite the fact that the Powers That Be seem to want them to be selected), and I agree that they should not be elected. Finally, I hope that Gary Sheffield, Barry Bonds, and Roger Clemens eventually make the Hall of Fame, but I won't be holding my breath (especially for the latter two).

"Clustering-Induced Localization of Quantum Walks on Networks"

One of my papers came out in published form today. Here are some details.

Title: Clustering-Induced Localization of Quantum Walks on Networks

Authors: Lucas Böttcher and Mason A. Porter

"Bounded-Confidence Models of Opinion Dynamics with Neighborhood Effects"

One of my papers just came out in final form. Here are some details.

Some Other 2025 MLB Awards

Major League Baseball announced various other awards (such as the Comeback Players of the Year) today.

2025 MLB Most Valuable Player (MVP) Awards

Major League Baseball announced it's 2025 Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards today, and here too there were no surprises.

In the American League, Aaron Judge of the Yankees win his 3rd MVP award in a close vote over Mariners' catcher Cal Raleigh. In the National League, Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers won his 4th MVP. This was also Ohtani's 4th unanimous MVP award, and nobody else in MLB history (or in any of the four major US professional sports) has won more than a single unanimous MVP award. In MLB history, Ohtani's four MVP awards is second all time to Barry Bonds' seven MVP awards. Ohtani's four MVP awards have come in a 5-year span, which David Schoenfield recently compared to other all-time 5-year spans in baseball history.

2025 also marks the first time in MLB history that both AL and NL MVP awards were repeat winners from the previous year.

You can see the full MVP voting on this page.

2025 MLB Cy Young Award Winners

Major League Baseball has announced its 2025 Cy Young Award winners, and again there are no surprises. Tarik Skubal beat out Garret Crochet in the American League (and did so slightly more handily than I was expecting) for his second consecutive Cy Young award, and Paul Skenes was a unanimous selection in the National League (with Christopher Sánchez receiving all 2nd-place votes and Yoshinobu Yamamoto finishing in 3rd).

You can see the full voting results on this page.

2025 MLB Managers of the Year

Baseball's 2025 Managers of the Year were announced today, and both winners are repeat winners from last year.

Stephen Vogt of the Cleveland Guardians won the American League Manager of the year award for the 2nd year in a row, and Pat Murphy of the Milwaukee Brewers accomplished the same feat in the National League.

You can see the vote totals for every manager that received a vote on this page

2025 MLB Rookies of the Year

Major League Baseball announced its 2025 Rookies of the Year today, and the results in both leagues were the expected ones. Namely, Nick Kurtz of the (West Sacramento) Athletics unanimously (as expected) won the American League Rookie of the Year award, and Drake Baldwin of the Atlanta Braves won the National League Rookie of the Year award.

Major League Baseball's 2025 Silver Slugger Awards

Major League Baseball has announced its 2025 Silver Slugger Awards for offensive excellence.

2025 Gold Gloves

Major League Baseball's Gold Glove Awards for defensive excellence were announced today.

Update (11/07/25): Fernando Tatis Jr. and Bobby Witt Jr. have been awarded Platinum Gloves as the best overall defenders. The Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs were awarded team gold gloves.

Dodgers Win 2025 World Series! (Back-to-Back!)

What an epic battle against the Blue Jays!!!!

Back-to-back World Series championships!!!! (the first time since the Yankees in 1998–2000)

Yoshinobu Yamamoto is obviously going to win the World Series MVP.

Will Smith caught the most innings ever in a single World Series.

There were many other records set, records tied, and epic performances. This was quite a series!

What Happens in the Twin Cities Stays in the Twin Cities

I am taking my first trip to Minnesota, where I'll be going to the Twin Cities to give a mathematics colloquium at University of Minnesota.

"Dynamical Processes on Metric Networks"

A paper of mine was just published in final form. Here are some details.

Title: Dynamical Processes on Metric Networks

Authors: Lucas Böttcher and Mason A. Porter

The Dodgers are Heading to the World Series Again!

The Dodgers have swept the Brewers in the National League Championship Series (NLCS) and are heading back to the World Series to try to repeat as World Champions.

In today's game, Shohei Ohtani pitched six dominant shutout innings and hit 3 home runs. Wow! For this effort, he was named NLCS Most Valuable Player.

With this win, the Dodgers are the first team to win back-to back pennants since the Phillies in 2008–2009. They are trying to become the first back-to-back World Series champions since the Yankees in 1998–2000.

What Happens in Stockholm Stays in Stockholm (2025 Edition)

I am off to Stockholm to give a talk and visit Nordita!

What Happens in Dresden Stays in Dresden (2025 Edition)

I'm heading to Dresden to give a colloquium at the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems.

What Happens in Tempe Stays in Tempe (2025 Edition)

I am heading to Arizona State University to visit its mathematics department, give a talk, chat with junior mathematicians, and do other valuable things.

What Happens in Santa Fe Stays in Santa Fe (2025 Edition)

I am off to Santa Fe to visit the Santa Fe Institute!

"Oscillatory and Excitable Dynamics in an Opinion Model with Group Opinions"

The published version of one of my papers just came out today. Here are some details.

Title: Oscillatory and Excitable Dynamics in an Opinion Model with Group Opinions

Authors: Corbit R. Sampson, Juan G. Restrepo, and Mason A. Porter

Abstract: