Julia Hartmann Named Fay R. and Eugene L. Langberg Professor in Mathematics

Julia Hartmann has been named Fay R. and Eugene L. Langberg Professor in Mathematics. Hartmann specializes in algebra and arithmetic geometry, a newer field that applies techniques from algebraic geometry to solve problems in number theory. With colleague David Harbater, Hartmann developed the method of field patching, which has expanded the ways mathematicians can analyze the relationships between local and global behaviors of mathematical objects. Moreover, field patching has recently led to the solution of a longstanding conjecture concerning the symmetry groups of differential equations.

Hartmann serves as faculty sponsor of Penn’s chapter of the Association for Women in Mathematics and co-organizes Gender Minorities in Mathematics and Statistics (GeMs), a group of grad students, postdocs, faculty, and visitors in Penn’s Math Department who identify as gender minorities, along with allies.

The Langberg Professorships were established through the bequest of Eugene L. Langberg, CCC’42, G’45. The late Mr. Langberg was an electrical physicist who held positions at the U.S. Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C., and at the Franklin Institute. He also served as a commissioner of Upper Gwynedd Township, Pennsylvania. Mr. Langberg’s wife, the late Fay Ruth Moses Langberg, was a member of the College for Women Class of 1947.