Eisentraeger Awarded Sloan Research Fellowship
Kirsten Eisentraeger, assistant professor of mathematics, has been awarded an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship in recognition of her work as a young scientist engaged in cutting-edge research. Sloan Research Fellowships are intended to enhance the careers of the very best young faculty members in specified fields of science. Currently, a total of 116 fellowships are awarded annually in seven fields: chemistry, computational and evolutionary molecular biology, computer science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, and physics.
Eisentraeger researches number theory and arithmetic geometry. One direction of her research focuses on questions of decidability and undecidability in number theory. In particular, she has worked on generalizations of Hilbert's Tenth Problem, which concern the existence of algorithms that determine the solvability of polynomial equations. Hilbert's Tenth Problem is one of 23 now-famous problems that were posed in 1900 by the German mathematician David Hilbert. All 23 problems were unsolved at the time, and the tenth problem remained open until 1970 when it was resolved by Yuri Matiyasevich. Eisentraeger's research interests also include problems related to computational aspects of curves and applications of arithmetic geometry to cryptography.
Eisentraeger has published several scientific papers about her research, including a paper in the Journal of Algebra and one to appear in the conference proceedings for Pairing 2008. She has delivered presentations and invited talks at academic institutions worldwide, including a presentation on number theory and computability at the International Centre for Mathematical Sciences workshop in June 2007 in Edinburgh, United Kingdom and a presentation on open problems in number theory and cryptography at the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics in October 2006 in Los Angeles.
She was honored in May 2003 with the Alexander Prize for outstanding Berkeley dissertation in pure mathematics and, from 1995 to 1999, she received the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes Fellowship.
Eisentraeger was a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow and a T.H. Hildebrandt Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan prior to joining the Penn State faculty in August 2007. She was a Vertical Integration of Research and Education (VIGRE) Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan from 2004 to 2005 and a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey from 2003 to 2004. She spent four summers at Microsoft Research in the Cryptography and Anti-Piracy Group as a visiting researcher in 2003 and 2004 and as an intern in 2001 and 2002.
Eisentraeger earned her master's and Ph.D. degrees in mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley in 1998 and 2003, respectively.
CONTACTS:
Kirsten Eisentraeger: (+1) 814-863-4127, kxe8@psu.edu
Barbara Kennedy (PIO): (+1) 814-863-4682, science@psu.edu