2024
Daniel Litt
Leading researcher in algebraic geometry and number theory wins Sloan Fellowship
2024
Leading researcher in algebraic geometry and number theory wins Sloan Fellowship
Daniel Litt, Assistant Professor in mathematics at the University of Toronto, is an emerging leader in using modern algebraic geometry to answer classical questions in geometry, topology, number theory, and dynamics.
“I work primarily, in algebraic geometry and number theory,” he explains. “So, a lot of what I do is think about the interactions between those two areas. For example, how is the geometry of a shape influenced by the algebra of the equations that define it?”
Number theory has recently found many uses in cryptography and other areas, but Dr. Litt emphasizes that his work isn’t directly aimed at any kind of application. “It’s more fundamental research,” he says, noting that he works on questions that may have been explored by someone in the 17th or 18th centuries.
His pursuit of answers to longstanding mathematical questions garnered Dr. Litt the 2024 Sloan Research Fellowship, which he sees as a “little vote of confidence that you should keep doing what you’re doing.”
“It’s an honour to be recognized that way,” he says.
Dr. Litt’s research interests also include questions about positivity and vanishing theorems, dynamics of algebraic varieties, and Hodge theory.
