Isabella Novik

Isabella Novik is a Professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Washington. She specializes in Algebraic and Geometric Combinatorics, with a focus on the combinatorial properties of polytopes, simplicial complexes, and manifolds, as well as their connections to commutative algebra and algebraic topology. Her research investigates face enumeration, neighborly structures, and centrally symmetric polytopes/spheres. She co-organizes the Combinatorics and Geometry Seminar at UW with Sara Billey, Gaku Liu, and Ricky Liu.

Her Ph.D. was awarded by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1999. She has published extensively on topics such as the Upper Bound Theorem, lower bound conjectures, and stresses in simplicial polytopes. Her work bridges combinatorial geometry with algebraic methods, addressing questions about polytope reconstruction, transversal numbers, and Hodge-Riemann forms.

Novik serves on the editorial boards of Algebraic Combinatorics, Proceedings of the AMS, and the SIAM Journal on Discrete Mathematics. Her recent contributions include studies on neighborly spheres, affine stresses, and missing faces in polytopes, reflecting her ongoing exploration of the interplay between combinatorial structures and geometric/topological properties.