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Jordan Ellenberg

ADW-PAL Jordan Ellenberg
Jordan Ellenberg

Jordan Ellenberg
Full visit: March 13-17, 2023

  • John D. MacArthur Professor of Mathematics, University of Wisconsin at Madison
  • Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Mathematics, University of Wisconsin at Madison
  • Mathematician
  • International best-selling author
  • ADW-PAL term: 2019-25
  • Subject Area: Physical Sciences
  • Faculty host: Ravi Ramakrishna (Professor, Dept. of Mathematics)
  • Faculty co-host: Steve Strogatz (Professor, Dept. of Mathematics)

Jordan Ellenberg is both a world-class scholar of mathematics and a world-class communicator. His mathematical expertise focuses primarily on arithmetic algebraic geometry and number theory. Ellenberg has earned numerous awards for his scholarly achievements. These awards include the Simons Fellowship in Mathematics (2018); a Guggenheim Fellowship (2016); and an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship (2005). He was also an Inaugural Fellow of the American Mathematical Society and has held numerous National Science Foundation grants.

Ellenberg is also a prolific writer, in many forms. His debut novel, The Grasshopper King (2003), has been described as “a profoundly absurd campus satire about immortality, obsession, obscurity and true love.” His book, How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking (2014), was a New York Times hardcover bestseller.

Ellenberg has also authored many essays fostering a general appreciation of mathematics and its societal and technological role in our world.  His forthcoming book, Shape (2021), is about the ubiquity of geometry in modern life. His media work includes appearances on NBC’s The Today Show and NPR’s All Things Considered; and essays that have appeared in The New York TimesThe Washington PostThe Wall Street JournalThe Boston GlobeWired, and The Believer.