Frances Kirwan

Professor Dame Frances Kirwan serves as the Savilian Professor of Geometry at New College, Oxford since 2017. Previously, she was University Professor at Balliol College (1996-2017) and became an Emeritus Fellow there in 2009. She has held significant leadership positions including President of the London Mathematical Society (2004-2006), the second-youngest president in the society's history, and served on the Programme Committee for the 2006 International Congress of Mathematicians in Madrid.

Her educational background includes PhD studies at Cambridge University in 1984 under Sir Michael Atiyah. Her academic career began with a junior position at Harvard University before returning to the UK, where she became Fellow of Magdalen College and later Balliol College. She has been an influential figure in mathematics, delivering invited talks at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Zurich (1994) and Beijing (2002).

Professor Kirwan's research centers on the profound connections between algebraic and symplectic geometry, with groundbreaking contributions to invariant theory. Her methodology uniquely combines algebraic and topological approaches to unravel the structure of geometric objects, drawing from diverse mathematical disciplines. This integrative research has developed essential techniques for classifying geometric structures, particularly in moduli spaces of complex algebraic curves.

Her exceptional contributions have been recognized through numerous prestigious honors:

• L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award (2023) for "exceptional work in pure mathematics combining geometry and algebra"
• Sylvester Medal of The Royal Society (2021)
• DBE for services to mathematics (2014)
• Fellow of the Royal Society (2001)
• EPSRC Senior Research Fellowship (2005-2010) for work on moduli spaces

Professor Kirwan's research program has received substantial support including the EPSRC Senior Research Fellowship, enabling her to advance fundamental work in algebraic geometry. Her leadership extends beyond research to shaping mathematical discourse through society presidencies and committee memberships. Her publications demonstrate consistent focus on moduli spaces, cohomology structures, and geometric invariant theory across three decades.