Douglas Ulmer is an American mathematician who works in

algebraic geometry Algebraic geometry is a branch of mathematics which uses abstract algebraic techniques, mainly from commutative algebra, to solve geometry, geometrical problems. Classically, it studies zero of a function, zeros of multivariate polynomials; th ...

and

number theory Number theory is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers and arithmetic functions. Number theorists study prime numbers as well as the properties of mathematical objects constructed from integers (for example ...

. He is a professor and mathematics department head at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

Education

Ulmer did his undergraduate study at

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 ...

. In 1987, he received his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

, where his advisor was

Benedict Hyman Gross Benedict Hyman Gross (born June 22, 1950) is an American mathematician who is a professor at the University of California, San Diego, the George Vasmer Leverett Professor of Mathematics Emeritus at Harvard University, and former Dean of Harvard C ...

; his thesis was titled ''The Arithmetic of Universal Elliptic Modular Curves''.

Academic career

Ulmer was a

C. L. E. Moore instructor The job title of C. L. E. Moore instructor is given by the Math Department at Massachusetts Institute of Technology to recent math Ph.D.s hired for their promise in pure mathematics research. The instructors are expected to do both teaching and res ...

at the

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

in 1987. In 1997 he was among the founders of the Southwest Center for Arithmetic Geometry at the

. In 2009, he moved to the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public university, public research university and Institute of technology (United States), institute of technology in Atlanta, ...

, where he became Chair of the School of Mathematics. He returned to the University of Arizona in 2017. Since 2014, he has served on the editorial board of the '' Journal de Théorie des Nombres de Bordeaux''.

Recognition

Ulmer was elected as 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, ...

, in the 2025 class of fellows.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulmer, Douglas 1960 births Living people 20th-century American mathematicians Princeton University alumni Brown University alumni Georgia Tech faculty University of Arizona faculty Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science faculty 21st-century American mathematicians Fellows of the American Mathematical Society