Josephine Yu

Josephine Yu is a Professor in the School of Mathematics at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She specializes in algebraic and geometric combinatorics, tropical geometry, and computational algebraic geometry. Her research bridges combinatorial structures with algebraic geometry, focusing on polytopes, matroids, and tropical varieties.

Education:

• Ph.D. Mathematics, UC Berkeley (2007), Advisor: Bernd Sturmfels
• B.S. Mathematics and Computer Science, UC Davis (2003), Advisor: Motohico Mulase

Research Interests: Tropical geometry, algebraic combinatorics, polyhedral geometry, and their applications. She explores connections between combinatorial structures (e.g., matroids, graphs) and algebraic varieties, often using computational methods.

Recent Work Trends: Recent publications focus on tropical varieties, symmetric determinantal varieties, and applications of tropical geometry to economics and optimization. She also develops computational tools for studying these structures.

Awards:

• Provost Teaching and Learning Fellow (2020-21)
• NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship (2008–2011)
• LiftOff Fellowship (2007)

Grants & Advising: Active in mentoring graduate students (e.g., Daniel Hwang, Juliet Whidden) and postdocs. Leading NSF grants on tropical geometry and combinatorics (e.g., #2348701, #1855726). Organizes conferences like MEGA and FPSAC.

Editorial Roles: Managing Editor of Combinatorial Theory, Associate Editor of SIAM Journal on Applied Algebra and Geometry, and Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Combinatorial Theory, Series A.