Amber Puha, PhD

Education

Research

My training is in probability theory, stochastic processes, and their applications. These days I primarily work in the area of stochastic processing networks. A stochastic network model captures the inherent randomness in a variety of networks, including those that arise in modern computing and communications, as well as transportation and hi-tech manufacturing. The structure of the network is typically deterministic and the service discipline is usually specified. Randomness manifests itself in customer exogenous arrival times, service times, routing, etc. In general, such networks are complicated and involve feedback and non-head-of-the-line (HL) service disciplines. Consequently, they often evade closed form analysis, and tractable approximations are needed. Fluid approximations can be regarded as first-order deterministic (dynamical systems) approximations that yield insights about average network performance. A diffusion approximation is then a second-order stochastic approximation that captures the dominant effects of randomness. My work has centered on proving such approximation theorems for a variety of non-HL service discipline that arise in modern networks. Measure-valued stochastic processes are a key tool employed in my work to handle the infinite dimensional nature of these state-spaces.

Awards

• 2021-24 NSF Grant DMS-2054505, $232,443
• 2015-19 NSF Grant DMS-1510198, $180,000
• 2015-16 Presidents Outstanding Faculty Award for Scholarship and Creative Activity
• 2007 INFORMS Applied Probability Society Best Publication Award, Co-Recipient

Publications

Click on the highlighted word to download either a PDF or Postscript Version for personal scientific non-commercial use only.

• Sayan Banerjee, Amarjit Budhiraja, and Amber L. Puha. Heavy Traffic Scaling Limits for Shortest Remaining Processing Time Queues with Heavy Tailed Processing Time Distributions.  Annals of Applied Probability, to appear.
• Yueyang Zhong, Amy R. Ward, and Amber L. Puha. Asymptotically Optimal Idling in the GI/GI/N+GI Queue. Operations Research Letters, 34:3, 362-369, 2022.
• Amber L. Puha and Amy R. Ward. Fluid Limits for Multiclass Many Server Queues with General Reneging Distribution and General Head-of-the-Line Scheduling Policies. Mathematics of Operations Research, Published online: 21 Dec 2021.
• David Aldous, Pietro Caputo, Rick Durrett, Paul Jung, Alexander E. Holroyd, and Amber L. Puha. The Life and Mathematical Legacy of Thomas M. Liggett.  Notices of the American Mathematical Society, January 2021.
• Amber L. Puha and Amy R. Ward. Scheduling an Overloaded Multiclass Many-Server Queue with Impatient Customers. Tutorials in Operations Research, Published online: 02 Oct 2019; 189--217. Presented by Ward at INFORMS 2019.
• Justin A. Mulvany, Amber L. Puha and Ruth J. Williams. Asymptotic Behavior of a Critical Fluid Model for a Multiclass Processor Sharing Queue via Relative Entropy.  Queueing Systems, 93: 351--397, 2019.
• Amber L. Puha and Ruth J. Williams. Asymptotic Behavior of a Critical Fluid Model for a Processor Sharing Queue via Relative Entropy. Stochastic Systems, 6, 251-300, 2016.
• Amber L. Puha. Diffusion limits for shortest remaining processing time queues under nonstandard spatial scaling. Annals of Applied Probability, 25, 3381-3404, 2015.
• Otis Jennings and Amber L. Puha. The fluid limit of an overloaded FIFO queue with general abandonment distribution. Stochastic Systems, 3, 262-321, 2013.
• H. Christian Gromoll, Lukasz Kruk, and Amber L. Puha. The diffusion limit of an SRPT queue. Stochastic Systems, 1, 1-16, 2011.
• Douglas Down, H. Christian Gromoll, and Amber L. Puha. Fluid limits for shortest remaining processing time queues. Mathematics of Operations Research, 34, 880 - 911, November 2009.
• Douglas Down, H. Christian Gromoll, and Amber L. Puha. State-dependent response times via fluid limits for shortest remaining processing time queues. San Diego ACM-Sigmetrics Performance Evaluation Review, 27, 75-76, September 2009.
• A. L. Puha, A. L. Stoylar, and R. J. Williams. The Fluid Limit of an Overloaded Processor Sharing Queue. Mathematics of Operations Research, 31, 316-350, 2006.
• Stan Barrick, Amber Puha, and CSU Information Technology Services Academic Technology Division. CSU Math Success Web, 2004.
• A. L. Puha and R. J. Williams, Invariant States and Rates of Convergence for the Fluid Limit of a Processor Sharing Queue. Annals of Applied Probability, 14, 517-554, 2004.
• H. C. Gromoll, A. L. Puha, and R. J. Williams, The Fluid Limit for a Processor Sharing Queue. The Annals of Applied Probability,12, 797-859, 2002.
• Teaching Developmental Mathematics with ALEKS: An Implementation Guide, S. Barrick and A. L. Puha, McGraw-Hill, 2003.
• A. L. Puha, Critical Exponents for a Reversible Nearest Particle System on the Binary Tree. The Annals of Probability, 28(1), 395-415, 2000.
• A. L. Puha, A Reversible Nearest Particle System on the Homogeneous Tree, Journal of Theoretical Probability, 12(1), 217-254, 1999. View a list of typographical errors that unfortunately found their way into the published version.
• J. T. Chayes, A. L. Puha, and T. Sweet, Independent and Dependent Percolation. In Probability: Theory and Applications, volume 6, of IAS/Park City Mathematics Series, editors E. Hsu and S. R. S. Varadhan, pages 49-166, Amercian Mathematical Society, 1999.
• A. L. Puha, A Reversible Interacting Particle System on the Homogeneous Tree, Dissertation, Department of Mathematics, University of California, Los Angeles, 1998.

Courses

• 2009 Greater San Diego Area Mathematics Council Outstanding Post Secondary Mathematics Teacher
• 2020-21, On Sabbatical
  • Enrolled students may obtain information about these courses at Cougar Courses.

Vitae

View my CV

Service

2022-2023 Service and Committees

• Department of Mathematics Chair
• Co-PI with Anthony Matranga, Mathematics and Science Teaching Initiative, CSU Chancellors Office
• Co-PI with Mike Picollelli, Effective and Equitable Mathematics Pathways in STEM Education, California Learning Lab
• Learning Assistant Program Mathematics Coordinator
• Surf Team Faculty Advisor

Editorial Work

• Mathematics of Operations Research Associate Editor
• Stochastic Systems Associate Editor

Conference Coordination

• Coordinator, Southern California Probability Symposium
• Seminar on Stochastic Processes Long Term Science Advisory Board Member
• Stochastic Networks, Applied Probability, and Performance (SNAPP) Seminar Advisory Board

Conference Organization

• Interacting Particle Systems, Statistical Mechanics, and Related Topics: A conference to honor the contributions of Thomas Liggett, UC Los Angeles IPAM, March 7-9, 2019 (w/ Marek Biskup (UCLA), Paul Jung (KAIST), and Georg Menz (UCLA))

• Stochastic Networks Conference, UC San Diego, June 20-24, 2016 (w/ Tara Javidi (UCSD Eng) and Ruth Williams (UCSD Math))

• Seminar on Stochastic Processes, UC San Diego, March 26-29, 2014 (w/ Patrick Fitzsimmons, Jason Schweinsberg, and Ruth Williams (UCSD))

• A Workshop for Women in Probability, Duke University, October 14-16, 2012 (w/ Rick Durrett (Duke Univ.) and Tai Melcher (UVA))

• A Workshop for Women in Probability, Cornell Univeristy, Octover 5-7, 2008 (w/ Rick Durrett (Cornell Univ.), Lea Popovik (Concordia Univ.))

Surf Team

The CSUSM Surf Team was established in January 2002. It was the second Sport Club to be recognized on campus (Women's Soccer was first).  It is the longest standing Sport Club at CSUSM.  Prof. Puha has served as the Faculty Advisor since its inception.  The team competes in the NSSA College Team Season.  In 2009, the team earned its first National Championship and then, ten years later in 2019, they earned their second. Campus Recreation presently oversees Sport Clubs at CSUSM.

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2019 National Champions