Jesus De Loera, UC Davis
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Abstract: Convex polyhedra are familiar objects. Cubes and pyramids are common in kindergartens. Polyhedra, in their high-dimensional versions, are widely used in applied mathematics. Their beauty and simplicity appeal to all, but very few people know of the many easy-to-state but difficult-to-solve mathematical problems that hide behind their beauty.This lecture introduces the audience to some fascinating open questions on the frontiers of mathematical research and its applications.
Biography: Jesus De Loera received his B.S. degree in Mathematics from the National University of Mexico in 1989, a M.A. in Mathematics from Western Michigan in 1990, and his Ph.D in Applied Mathematics from Cornell University in 1995. An expert in the field of discrete mathematics, his work approaches difficult computational problems in applied combinatorics and optimization using tools from algebra and convex geometry.
He has held visiting positions at the University of Minnesota, the Swiss Federal Technology Institute (ETH Zurich), the Mathematical Science Institute at Berkeley (MSRI), Universität Magdeburg (Germany), and the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics at UCLA (IPAM). He arrived at UC Davis in 1999, where he is now a professor of Mathematics as well as a member of the Graduate groups in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics.
His research has been recognized by an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship, the 2010 INFORMS computer society prize, and a John von Neumann professorship at the Technical University of Munich. He has received over three million dollars in national and international grants. He is associate editor of the journals SIAM Journal of Discrete Mathematics and Discrete Optimization. For his dedication to outstanding mentoring and teaching he received the 2003 UC Davis Chancellor's fellow award, the 2006 UC Davis award for diversity, and the 2007 Award for excellence in Service to Graduate students by the UC Davis graduate student association. He has supervised seven Ph.D students, five postdocs, and over 20 undergraduate theses.
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