Paul Seidel

This information is accurate as of the fellowship year indicated for each fellow.

Paul Seidel is a professor of mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He studies symplectic topology and its interplay with ideas from string theory, notably mirror symmetry. His most recent work carries over the classical topological idea of Lefschetz pencils into noncommutative geometry.

During his stay at Radcliffe, Seidel plans to continue his study of Lefschetz pencils, hoping to connect that to the better known enumerative aspect of mirror symmetry. He will also study how the traditionally dynamical nature of symplectic topology can be understood from a mirror symmetry viewpoint. In view of the interdisciplinary approach of the Institute, he also hopes to further his understanding of certain questions about the structure and meaning of mathematical texts.

Seidel, who earned his PhD from the University of Oxford, was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2014. He currently holds a Simons Investigators Award grant from the Simons Foundation. His work has been recognized by an Oswald Veblen Prize in Geometry from the American Mathematical Society and an EMS (European Mathematical Society) Prize.