A doctoral dissertation titled Ramsey-Type Results on Planar Geometric Objects, defended at ETH Zurich in 2001, established the academic foundation for the career of József Solymosi. Born in 1959, this Hungarian-Canadian mathematician focuses his research on the intersections of discrete geometry, graph theory, and additive combinatorics from his long-standing position at the University of British Columbia.
Academic Formation and Early Career
Solymosi began his formal training in mathematics at Eötvös Loránd University, where he completed a master's degree in 1988 under the supervision of László Székely. He later pursued doctoral studies at ETH Zurich, graduating in 2001 under Emo Welzl. Following his studies, he served as the S. E. Warschawski Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the University of California, San Diego, from 2001 to 2003, before joining the faculty at the University of British Columbia in 2002.
Twenty questions, eight minutes on the clock, and a percentile measured against everyone who has taken it. No sign-up.
Take the IQ test →Contributions to Geometric Combinatorics
His research has produced several advancements in combinatorial problems. Solymosi provided a proof regarding finite sets of points in the Euclidean plane where every pair maintains an integer distance, determining that the diameter of such sets must be linear relative to the number of points. In collaboration with de Zeeuw, he addressed the Erdős–Ulam problem, establishing that infinite rational-distance sets are either dense in the Zariski topology or constrained to a single line or circle.
Collaborative Research and Theoretic Bounds
Working alongside Terence Tao, he developed a bound of (mn)^(2/3+ε) for incidences between n points and m affine subspaces in finite-dimensional Euclidean space. This work generalized the Szemerédi–Trotter theorem and solved a conjecture proposed by Toth. His other research includes refined bounds for the Erdős–Szemerédi theorem, demonstrating that sets of real numbers possess either large sets of pairwise sums or pairwise products. Additionally, he contributed to the Erdős distinct distances problem.
Professional Engagement and Recognition
Beyond his individual research, Solymosi participated in the initial Polymath Project initiated by Timothy Gowers to explore improvements to the Hales–Jewett theorem. He served as editor in chief of the Electronic Journal of Combinatorics between 2013 and 2015. His work has been recognized with a Sloan Research Fellowship in 2006 and the André Aisenstadt Mathematics Prize in 2008. In 2012, he was designated a doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Science.
Fast facts
- Born: 1959
- Citizenship: Canada, Hungary
- Primary Fields: Discrete geometry, extremal combinatorics, additive combinatorics
- Education: Eötvös Loránd University, ETH Zurich
- Key Academic Role: Professor at University of British Columbia
- Doctoral Supervisor: Emo Welzl
- Notable Recognition: André Aisenstadt Mathematics Prize (2008)
- Editorial History: Editor in chief of Electronic Journal of Combinatorics (2013-2015)
Questions readers ask
What specific theorem did Solymosi help generalize?
He generalized the Szemerédi–Trotter theorem regarding the number of incidences between points and lines in a Euclidean plane.
Which major mathematical project did he help launch?
He was the first online contributor to the first Polymath Project organized by Timothy Gowers.
Achievements
- Held posts at University of British Columbia
- Fields: additive combinatorics, extremal combinatorics and discrete geometry
