Office of the Provost

The Provost is NYU Abu Dhabi's chief academic officer with oversight responsibility for the institution's academic, research, and scholarly programs and policies, academic appointments, and faculty affairs. The Provost also oversees the divisional deans and provides direction to academic leadership team, and works closely with the faculty and administration. The Provost has responsibility for the effective stewardship of the resources allocated to support the academic enterprise.

Prior to joining NYU Abu Dhabi in September 2020, Dr. Arlie O. Petters was a Benjamin Powell Distinguished Professor of Mathematics at Duke University, and former Dean of Academic Affairs for Trinity College of Arts and Sciences and Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education at Duke. Petters’ principal research interests include mathematical physics and scientific methods in business administration, with a focus on mathematical finance and entrepreneurship and innovation in STEM fields in developing nations.

Before joining Duke, Petters served as an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Princeton University and an Instructor of Pure Mathematics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He received his PhD in mathematics from MIT, and has a BA and MA in mathematics and physics from Hunter College of the City University of New York. Petters’ research explores how gravity acts on light. He pioneered the mathematical theory of weak-deflection gravitational lensing, which brought powerful methods from pure mathematics to bear on astronomy. He also advanced applications of gravitational lensing, which included predicting effects that probe the nature of spacetime around black holes and developing tests of Einstein’s general relativity and modified gravity models.

He has published numerous articles in premier peer-reviewed journals as well as written five books, including the monograph Singularity Theory and Gravitational Lensing, the textbook An Introduction to Mathematical Finance with Applications, and three problem-solving books on mathematics and scientific reasoning.

Academic Leadership Team

Key People