Biography:
Jennifer Shyamala Sayaka Balakrishnan is an American mathematician known for her expertise in algorithmic number theory and arithmetic geometry. She gained prominence for leading a team that successfully solved the “cursed curve” problem, a famously difficult Diophantine equation.
Born in Mangilao, Guam, Jennifer is the daughter of Narayana and Shizuko Balakrishnan. Her father is a professor of chemistry at the University of Guam. Jennifer’s passion for mathematics began at an early age and quickly gained recognition. As a junior at Harvest Christian Academy, she received an honorable mention in the prestigious Karl Menger Memorial Award competition in 2001 for her outstanding mathematical project in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Her project focused on elliptic coordinate systems.
Jennifer’s mathematical prowess continued to shine in the following years. In 2002, she emerged as the winner of the National High School Student Calculus Competition, which is administered as part of the United States of America Mathematical Olympiad.
After completing her secondary education, Jennifer enrolled at Harvard University. In 2006, she graduated with both a magna cum laude bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in mathematics. Seeking further academic pursuits, Jennifer pursued her Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2011, she successfully defended her thesis titled Coleman Integration for Hyperelliptic Curves: Algorithms and Applications, under the guidance of Kiran Kedlaya.
Jennifer continued to expand her knowledge and research during her postdoctoral studies. From 2011 to 2013, she returned to Harvard as a postdoctoral researcher. She then moved to the University of Oxford, where she served as a Junior Research Fellow at Balliol College and a Titchmarsh Research Fellow in the Mathematical Institute from 2013 to 2016.
In 2016, Jennifer joined Boston University as a Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor. Her remarkable contributions to the field of mathematics earned her the title of Clare Boothe Luce Associate Professor in 2021, a testament to her expertise and leadership in the academic community.
Notably, Jennifer Balakrishnan is a prominent figure in the Simons Collaboration on Arithmetic Geometry, Number Theory, and Computation, a large-scale collaborative effort involving leading universities such as Boston University, Harvard, MIT, Brown University, and Dartmouth College. This collaboration brings together accomplished mathematicians from across the United States, England, Australia, the Netherlands, and Canada to advance the field of arithmetic geometry and number theory.
Jennifer’s dedication to advancing mathematical research is further demonstrated in her involvement with various institutions. She serves on the board of directors of the Number Theory Foundation, an organization dedicated to promoting research and education in number theory. Additionally, she sits on the editorial boards of esteemed mathematical journals such as Research in Number Theory and Mathematics of Computation. Jennifer’s expertise is further recognized through her role on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics (ICERM).
Her most prominent contribution to date came in 2017 when Jennifer Balakrishnan led a team of mathematicians to resolve the problem of the cursed curve, denoted as Xs(13). This curve is defined by the equation y^4 + 5x^4 – 6x^2y^2 + 6x^3z + 26x^2yz + 10xy^2z – 10y^3z – 32x^2z^2 – 40xyz^2 + 24y^2z^2 + 32xz^3 – 16yz^3 = 0. The successful resolution of this notoriously challenging Diophantine equation marked a significant breakthrough in algorithmic number theory and brought Jennifer widespread acclaim.
Throughout her career, Jennifer Balakrishnan has consistently pushed the boundaries of mathematical knowledge. Her remarkable contributions to the field and her dedication to mentoring future generations of mathematicians make her a true pioneer in the realm of algorithmic number theory and arithmetic geometry.