Caterina (Katia) Consani (born 1963) is an Italian mathematician specializing in
arithmetic geometry
In mathematics, arithmetic geometry is roughly the application of techniques from algebraic geometry to problems in number theory. Arithmetic geometry is centered around Diophantine geometry, the study of rational points of algebraic variety, alg ...
. She is a professor of mathematics at
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
.
Contributions
Consani is the namesake of the
Consani–Scholten quintic, a
quintic threefold In mathematics, a quintic threefold is a 3-dimensional hypersurface of degree 5 in 4-dimensional projective space \mathbb^4. Non-singular quintic threefolds are Calabi–Yau manifolds.
The Hodge diamond of a non-singular quintic 3-fold is
Mathem ...
that she described with Jasper Scholten in 2001,
and of the Connes–Consani plane connection, a relationship between the
field with one element
In mathematics, the field with one element is a suggestive name for an object that should behave similarly to a finite field with a single element, if such a field could exist. This object is denoted F1, or, in a French–English pun, Fun. The name ...
and certain
group action
In mathematics, a group action on a space is a group homomorphism of a given group into the group of transformations of the space. Similarly, a group action on a mathematical structure is a group homomorphism of a group into the automorphism ...
s on
projective space
In mathematics, the concept of a projective space originated from the visual effect of perspective, where parallel lines seem to meet ''at infinity''. A projective space may thus be viewed as the extension of a Euclidean space, or, more generally ...
s investigated by Consani with
Alain Connes
Alain Connes (; born 1 April 1947) is a French mathematician, and a theoretical physicist, known for his contributions to the study of operator algebras and noncommutative geometry. He is a professor at the , , Ohio State University and Vande ...
.
She is also known for her work with
Matilde Marcolli
Matilde Marcolli is an Italian and American mathematical physicist. She has conducted research work in areas of mathematics and theoretical physics; obtained the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Preis of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, and the Sofia Kov ...
on
Arakelov theory In mathematics, Arakelov theory (or Arakelov geometry) is an approach to Diophantine geometry, named for Suren Arakelov. It is used to study Diophantine equations in higher dimensions.
Background
The main motivation behind Arakelov geometry is t ...
and
noncommutative geometry
Noncommutative geometry (NCG) is a branch of mathematics concerned with a geometric approach to noncommutative algebras, and with the construction of ''spaces'' that are locally presented by noncommutative algebras of functions (possibly in some ge ...
.
Education and career
Consani was born January 9, 1963, in
Chiavari
Chiavari (; lij, Ciävai ) is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, in Italy. It has about 28,000 inhabitants. It is situated near the river Entella.
History
Pre-Roman and Roman Era
A pre-Roman necropolis, which dates f ...
.
She earned a
laurea
In Italy, the ''laurea'' is the main post-secondary academic degree. The name originally referred literally to the laurel wreath, since ancient times a sign of honor and now worn by Italian students right after their official graduation ceremony ...
in mathematics in 1986 at the
University of Genoa
The University of Genoa, known also with the acronym UniGe ( it, Università di Genova), is one of the largest universities in Italy. It is located in the city of Genoa and regional Metropolitan City of Genoa, on the Italian Riviera in the Liguri ...
,
a doctorate (''dottorato di ricerca'') in 1992 from the University of Genoa and the
University of Turin
The University of Turin (Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Torino'', UNITO) is a public research university in the city of Turin, in the Piedmont region of Italy. It is one of the oldest universities in Europe and continues to play an impo ...
, and a second doctorate in 1996 from the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
. Her first doctoral dissertation was ''Teoria dell’ intersezione e K-teoria su varietà singolari'', supervised by Claudio Pedrini, and her second dissertation was ''Double Complexes and Euler L-factors on Degenerations of Algebraic Varieties'', supervised by
Spencer Bloch
Spencer Janney Bloch (born May 22, 1944; New York City) is an American mathematician known for his contributions to algebraic geometry and algebraic ''K''-theory. Bloch is a R. M. Hutchins Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in the Depart ...
.
She was a
C. L. E. Moore instructor The job title of C. L. E. Moore instructor is given by the Math Department at Massachusetts Institute of Technology to recent math Ph.D.s hired for their promise in pure mathematics research. The instructors are expected to do both teaching and rese ...
at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
from 1996 to 1999, overlapping with a research visit in 1998 to the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
. After additional postdoctoral research at the
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholar ...
, she became an assistant professor at the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
in 2000, and moved to Johns Hopkins in 2005.
Selected publications
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Consani, Caterina
1963 births
Living people
21st-century American mathematicians
American women mathematicians
Italian mathematicians
University of Genoa alumni
University of Turin alumni
University of Chicago alumni
University of Toronto faculty
Johns Hopkins University faculty
21st-century women mathematicians
People from Chiavari
Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science faculty
21st-century American women