2023
Sophie Spirkl
Graph theorist’s research recognized with Sloan Fellowship
2023
Graph theorist’s research recognized with Sloan Fellowship
Sophie Spirkl is widely regarded as one of the strongest graph theorists among early-career researchers in the world, with an impressive breadth and depth of research.
An assistant professor of combinatorics and optimization at the University of Waterloo, Dr. Spirkl has won a 2023 Sloan Research Fellowship.
She studies graphs that describe how different things relate to each other. “For example, in a group of people, any pair of them may know each other or not know each other. Among cities, any two of them could be connected via a direct flight or not.”
But this data, she says, is not completely random.
“Usually, if I ask people, ‘Do you personally know 100 people, and no two of them know each other?’ the answer is no. This is local information – standing at one point in the graph, looking at one person’s point of view, I can say something about what’s going on nearby.”
Her research explores how this local knowledge may be helpful. “What can I say about the ‘big picture’ of the graph? Can we solve algorithmic questions faster by using this structural information? What do we learn about properties and parameters of the graph?”
Dr. Spirkl says she is “very honoured” to receive this recognition of her work. “And I’m very thankful to my department chair, Chaitanya Swamy, for nominating me. It also makes me appreciate all the support I’ve received in my career so far; I’ve been incredibly fortunate.”
The Sloan Fellowship will allow Dr. Spirkl to expand her research team and their opportunities to travel to conferences and workshops.
“One of the best things that is coming out of this is more funding for students to attend summer schools, workshops and conferences,” she says. “My field is very collaborative, and it’s vital for my students to be able to meet others in the field, make connections and learn from them.
