Victoria Ann Powers is an American mathematician specializing in

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 known for her work on

positive polynomial In mathematics, a positive polynomial on a particular set is a polynomial whose values are positive on that set. Let ''p'' be a polynomial in ''n'' variables with real coefficients and let ''S'' be a subset of the ''n''-dimensional Euclidean ...

s and on the mathematics of

electoral system An electoral system or voting system is a set of rules that determine how elections and Referendum, referendums are conducted and how their results are determined. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political ...

s. She is a professor in the department of mathematics at

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

. She is the author of the book ''Certificates of Positivity for Real Polynomials—Theory, Practice, and Applications'' (Springer, 2021).

Education and career

Powers graduated 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 ...

in 1980, with a bachelor's degree in mathematics. She completed her Ph.D. in 1985 at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

. Her dissertation, ''Finite Constructable Spaces of Signatures'', was supervised by

Alex F. T. W. Rosenberg Alex F. T. W. Rosenberg (1926–2007) was a German-American mathematician who served as the editor of the '' Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society'' from 1960 to 1965, and of the '' American Mathematical Monthly'' from 1974 to 1976.. ...

. After completing her doctorate, she joined the faculty at the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

, but moved to Emory University only two years later, in 1987. She was on leave from Emory as a

Humboldt Fellow The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (german: Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung) is a foundation established by the German government, government of the Federal Republic of Germany and funded by the Foreign Office (Germany), Federal Foreign Office, ...

and Alexander von Humboldt research professor at the

University of Regensburg The University of Regensburg (german: link=no, Universität Regensburg) is a public research university located in the medieval city of Regensburg, Bavaria, a city that is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university was founded on 18 ...

in 1991–1992, as a visiting professor at the

Complutense University of Madrid The Complutense University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Complutense de Madrid; UCM, links=no, ''Universidad de Madrid'', ''Universidad Central de Madrid''; la, Universitas Complutensis Matritensis, links=no) is a public research university loca ...

in 2002–2003, and as a program officer at the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

in 2013–2015. From 2012-2014, Powers served as a Council Member at Large for the American Mathematical Society.

Personal

Powers is married to

Colm Mulcahy Colm Mulcahy (born September 1958) is an Irish mathematician, academic, columnist, book author, public outreach speaker, and amateur magician. He is Professor Emeritus at Spelman College, where he was on the faculty from 1988 to 2020. In addition ...

, an Irish mathematician who had the same doctoral advisor.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Powers, Victoria Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians American women mathematicians Algebraic geometers University of Chicago alumni Cornell University alumni University of Hawaiʻi faculty Emory University faculty 20th-century women mathematicians 21st-century women mathematicians 20th-century American women 21st-century American women