Sheldon H. Katz (19 December 1956,

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

) is an American mathematician, specializing in algebraic geometry and its applications to

string theory In physics, string theory is a theoretical framework in which the point-like particles of particle physics are replaced by one-dimensional objects called strings. String theory describes how these strings propagate through space and intera ...

Background and career

In 1973 Katz won first prize in the U.S.A. Mathematical Olympiad. He received in 1976 his bachelor's degree from

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

and in 1980 his Ph.D. from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

under Robert C. Gunning with thesis ''Deformations of Linear Systems, Divisors and Weierstrass Points on Curves''. At the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

, he was an instructor from 1980 to 1984. At the University of Oklahoma he was an assistant professor from 1984 to 1987. At

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

, he became in 1987 an assistant professor, in 1989 an associate professor, in 1994 a full professor, in 1997 ''Southwestern Bell Professor'', and in 1999 ''Regents Professor.'' Since 2001 he has been a professor at the

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the fou ...

, where he was chair of the department in 2006–2011. For the academic year 1982/83 he was a visiting scholar at the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry located in Princeton, New Jersey. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholars, including Albert Ein ...

. He was a visiting professor at the

Mittag-Leffler Institute The Mittag-Leffler Institute (Swedish: Institut Mittag-Leffler) is a mathematical research institute in Sweden. Located in Djursholm, a suburb of Stockholm, it invites scholars to participate in half-year programs in specialized mathematical su ...

(1997), at

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

(1991/92) and at the

University of Bayreuth The University of Bayreuth (German: Universität Bayreuth) is a public research university located in Bayreuth, Germany. It is one of the youngest German universities. It is broadly organized into seven undergraduate and graduate faculties, with ...

(1989). His research on algebraic geometry and its applications to string theory (including mirror symmetry) and

supersymmetry Supersymmetry is a Theory, theoretical framework in physics that suggests the existence of a symmetry between Particle physics, particles with integer Spin (physics), spin (''bosons'') and particles with half-integer spin (''fermions''). It propo ...

has been published in prestigious journals in mathematics and physics. In 2013 he was elected a Fellow of the

American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...

Selected publications

Articles

*with Bruce Crauder: *with Alberto Albano: *with David R. Morrison and M. Ronen Plesser: *with Eric Sharpe: *with Tony Pantev and E. Sharpe: *with Andrei Caldararu and E. Sharpe: *with Ron Donagi and E. Sharpe: *with D. Morrison, Sakura Schäfer-Nameki, and James Sully: *with Jinwon Choi and Albrecht Klemm:

Books

* with Rahul Pandharipande,

Cumrun Vafa Cumrun Vafa (, ; born 1 August 1960) is an Iranian-American theoretical physicist and the Hollis Professor of Mathematicks and Natural Philosophy at Harvard University. Early life and education Cumrun Vafa was born in Tehran, Iran on 1 August 1 ...

Ravi Vakil Ravi D. Vakil (born February 22, 1970) is a Canadian-American mathematician working in algebraic geometry. He is the current president of the American Mathematical Society. Education and career Vakil attended high school at Martingrove Collegiat ...

, Eric Zaslow, Kentaro Hori, Albrecht Klemm, Richard Thomas: ''Mirror Symmetry'',

Clay Mathematics Monographs Clay Mathematics Monographs is a series of expositions in mathematics co-published by AMS and Clay Mathematics Institute The Clay Mathematics Institute (CMI) is a private, non-profit foundation dedicated to increasing and disseminating mathema ...

, vol. 1, 2003 * with David A. Cox: *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Katz, Sheldon 1956 births Living people 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians Fellows of the American Mathematical Society Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Princeton University alumni University of Utah faculty Oklahoma State University faculty University of Oklahoma faculty University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty Algebraic geometers American string theorists Mathematicians from New York (state)