The doctoral thesis titled The geometry of loop groups, completed under the supervision of Isadore Singer in 1985, marked the entry of Daniel Stuart Freed into the field of global analysis. His subsequent research has focused on the intersections between mathematics and theoretical physics, specifically applying geometric methods to supersymmetry, string theory, and quantum field theory.
Academic Training and Early Career
Freed earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees from Harvard University in 1981. He later moved to the University of California, Berkeley, to complete his Ph.D. Following his doctoral studies, he served as a Moore Instructor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before holding an assistant professorship at the University of Chicago. He held a faculty position at the University of Texas at Austin from 1989 until 2022.
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Throughout his career, Freed has held visiting positions at the Institute for Advanced Study and the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques. He helped establish the IAS/Park City Mathematics Institute and has served on the board of trustees for the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute since 2006. His scholarly output includes collaborative works such as the 1984 text Instantons and Four-Manifolds with Karen Uhlenbeck, and his contributions to the two-volume collection Quantum fields and strings: a course for mathematicians, published in 1999.
Honors and Recognition
Freed received a Sloan Fellowship between 1988 and 1992 and a Guggenheim Fellowship during the 2002/2003 academic year. In 2002, he presented his research on twisted K-theory and loop groups as an invited speaker at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Beijing. He was elected a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society in 2013 and awarded the Senior Berwick Prize in 2014.
Fast facts
- Born: 17 April 1959
- Citizenship: United States
- Ph.D. Institution: University of California, Berkeley
- Primary Research Area: Global analysis
- Senior Berwick Prize Winner: 2014
- Fellow of the American Mathematical Society: 2013
Questions readers ask
Where did Dan Freed earn his doctorate?
He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1985.
What specific award did he receive in 2014?
He was awarded the Senior Berwick Prize.
Achievements
- Senior Berwick Prize — 2014
- Held posts at University of Texas at Austin
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