Alicia Dickenstein (born 17 January 1955, in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

) is an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

known for her work on

algebraic geometry Algebraic geometry is a branch of mathematics, classically studying zeros of multivariate polynomials. Modern algebraic geometry is based on the use of abstract algebraic techniques, mainly from commutative algebra, for solving geometrical ...

, particularly

toric geometry In algebraic geometry, a toric variety or torus embedding is an algebraic variety containing an algebraic torus as an open dense subset, such that the action of the torus on itself extends to the whole variety. Some authors also require it to be n ...

tropical geometry In mathematics, tropical geometry is the study of polynomials and their geometric properties when addition is replaced with minimization and multiplication is replaced with ordinary addition: : x \oplus y = \min\, : x \otimes y = x + y. So f ...

, and their applications to biological systems. She is a full professor at the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one o ...

, a 2019

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

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, ...

, a former vice-president of the

International Mathematical Union The International Mathematical Union (IMU) is an international non-governmental organization devoted to international cooperation in the field of mathematics across the world. It is a member of the International Science Council (ISC) and supports ...

(2015–2018), and a 2015 recipient of The World Academy of Sciences prize.

Research

Dickenstein is editor-in-chief of the journal ''Revista de la Unión Matemática Argentina''. She is also a corresponding editor for the SIAM Journal on Applied Algebra and Geometry. In 2009–2010, Dickenstein was an Eisenbud professor at MSRI, and in 2012–2013, she was a Simons professor at MSRI. In 2016, Dickenstein was a Knut and Alice Wallenbergs Professor at

KTH KTH may refer to: * Keat Hong LRT station, Singapore, LRT station abbreviation * Kent House railway station, London, National Rail station code * KTH Royal Institute of Technology, a university in Sweden * KTH Krynica, a Polish ice hockey team * Khy ...

. Her research focuses on using

Algebraic geometry Algebraic geometry is a branch of mathematics, classically studying zeros of multivariate polynomials. Modern algebraic geometry is based on the use of abstract algebraic techniques, mainly from commutative algebra, for solving geometrical ...

and

combinatorics Combinatorics is an area of mathematics primarily concerned with counting, both as a means and an end in obtaining results, and certain properties of finite structures. It is closely related to many other areas of mathematics and has many appl ...

to predict behaviours of

Biological system A biological system is a complex network which connects several biologically relevant entities. Biological organization spans several scales and are determined based different structures depending on what the system is. Examples of biological syst ...

s without knowing precise parameters. In joint work with Mercedes Pérez Millán, she created a system called The MESSI System (named after the footballer,

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...

) which stands for Modifications of the type-Enzyme-Substrate or Swap with Intermediates. This allows researchers to prove general results valid in certain networks.

Education

Dickenstein obtained her Ph.D. from the

Universidad de Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one of the most prestigi ...

in 1982 under Miguel E. M. Herrera.

Honors

In 2015, Dickenstein received the

TWAS Prize This is a list of recipients of the TWAS Prize, awarded annually by The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS). Summary Agricultural Sciences Biology Chemistry Earth Sciences Engineering Sciences Mathematics Medical Sc ...

from The World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science in developing countries. In 2018, Dickenstein was elected as a

of the

for "contributions to computational algebra and its applications, especially in systems biology, and for global leadership in supporting underrepresented groups in mathematics." That year, she was also named a Full Member of the National Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences of Argentina. In 2020 she was named a

SIAM Fellow The SIAM Fellowship is an award and fellowship that recognizes outstanding members of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM). The goal of the program is to: *honor SIAM members who are recognized by their peers as distinguished ...

"for contributions to algebraic geometry and its applications within geometric modeling and in the study of biochemical reaction networks". In 2021, Dickenstein received the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Award for the Latin America and Caribbean region. She was "recognized for her outstanding contributions at the forefront of mathematical innovation by leveraging algebraic geometry in the field of molecular biology. Her research enables scientists to understand the structures and behavior of cells and molecules, even on a microscopic scale. Operating at the frontier between pure and applied mathematics, she has forged important links to physics and chemistry and enabled biologists to gain an in-depth structural understanding of biochemical reactions and enzymatic networks."

Leadership

In 2021, Dickensen joined the

SIAM Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 mi ...

Council as a Member-at-Large.

Children's Books

Dickenstein has produced several books for children, including
Mate max: la matemática en todas partes
', which presents

mathematical problem A mathematical problem is a problem that can be represented, analyzed, and possibly solved, with the methods of mathematics. This can be a real-world problem, such as computing the orbits of the planets in the solar system, or a problem of a more ...

s designed for young children.

References

External links

UBA – Alicia Dickenstein
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dickenstein, Alicia Living people 1955 births Argentine mathematicians University of Buenos Aires faculty Argentine women mathematicians People from Buenos Aires Algebraic geometers TWAS laureates Fellows of the American Mathematical Society Fellows of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics