Math Professor Wins 'Genius' Grant

Mathematics professor Jacob A. Lurie ’00 was named a recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship, a prize commonly referred to as the “Genius Grant,” on Wednesday.

Mathematics professor Jacob A. Lurie ’00 was named a recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship, a prize commonly referred to as the “Genius Grant,” Wednesday. By Courtesy of the Harvard Gazette

Lurie was among the 21 fellows named by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for 2014. Each fellow will receive a no-strings-attached stipend of $625,000 for outstanding contribution to his or her field.

According to the Foundation’s website, the MacArthur Fellows Program “recognizes 21 exceptionally creative individuals with a track record of achievement and the potential for significant contributions in the future.”

Lurie's work, a statement on the foundation's website read, "is more than just a philosophical endeavor; he includes hard theorems in his foundations, developing theory to the point that deep new results become the corollary of a general and powerful framework.”

Lurie studies derived algebraic geometry, a field of mathematics which he said explores “what happens when there is redundancy in polynomial equations."

He said the award was “completely unexpected.”

“It does seem pretty random,” Lurie said. “I had no idea that they even give it to mathematicians.”

Lurie studied mathematics at Harvard College before pursuing his doctorate studies at MIT. He then returned to Harvard as a Mathematics professor in 2008 at age 31. He has published two books, “Higher Topos Theory” and “Higher Algebra,” as well as a number of papers.

Lurie, who now teaches Math 281: “Algebraic K-theory and Manifold Topology," said that he has long been intrigued by the “beautiful questions and answers” in the field of mathematics.

He said that he thinks math professors should teach more about the history of mathematics in their undergraduate classes.

“It ought to be possible to make mathematics seem more like a living subject where a lot of conceptual advances have been made over the years,” Lurie said. “It’s interesting that sciences in general are taught with a lot of the history stripped out. I think you lose a lot [by doing so].”

Benedict H. Gross '71, another Mathematics professor, called Lurie “a real visionary” in the field.

“He laid the foundation for a whole new subject and created his own field,” Gross said.

Gross taught Lurie when he was an undergraduate at the College and also supervised his senior thesis.

“His [undergraduate] thesis was equivalent to the very best Ph.D. thesis,” Gross said, adding that it was a pleasure to work with Lurie.

The fellowship was also awarded to three other Harvard alumni: documentary filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer ’96, social psychologist Jennifer L. Eberhardt, who graduated from the Graduate School of Education in 1993, and computer scientist Craig B. Gentry, who graduated from the Law School in 1998.

—Staff Writer Zara Zhang can be contacted at zara.zhang@thecrimson.com.