Joseph Daniel Harris
Encyclopedia
Joseph Daniel Harris known nearly universally as Joe Harris, is a mathematician
at Harvard University
working in the field of algebraic geometry
. He attended college
at and received his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1978 under Phillip Griffiths
.
During the 1980s he was on the faculty of Brown University
, moving to Harvard around 1988. He served as chair of the department at Harvard from 2002 to 2005. His work is characterized by its classical geometric flavor: he has claimed that nothing he thinks about could not have been imagined by the Italian geometers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and that if he has had greater success than them, it is because he has access to better tools.
Harris is well-known for several of his books on algebraic geometry, notable for their informal presentations:
Harris has supervised 41 Ph.D. students (as of 2011), including Rahul Pandharipande
and Ravi Vakil
.
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
working in the field of algebraic geometry
Algebraic geometry
Algebraic geometry is a branch of mathematics which combines techniques of abstract algebra, especially commutative algebra, with the language and the problems of geometry. It occupies a central place in modern mathematics and has multiple conceptual connections with such diverse fields as complex...
. He attended college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
at and received his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1978 under Phillip Griffiths
Phillip Griffiths
Phillip Griffiths is an American mathematician, known for his work in the field of geometry, and in particular for the complex manifold approach to algebraic geometry. He was a major developer in particular of the theory of variation of Hodge structure in Hodge theory and moduli theory.He received...
.
During the 1980s he was on the faculty of Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, moving to Harvard around 1988. He served as chair of the department at Harvard from 2002 to 2005. His work is characterized by its classical geometric flavor: he has claimed that nothing he thinks about could not have been imagined by the Italian geometers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and that if he has had greater success than them, it is because he has access to better tools.
Harris is well-known for several of his books on algebraic geometry, notable for their informal presentations:
- Principles of Algebraic Geometry ISBN 978-0471050599, with Phillip Griffiths
- Geometry of Algebraic Curves, Vol. 1 ISBN 978-0387909974, with Enrico ArbarelloEnrico ArbarelloEnrico Arbarello is an Italian mathematician, considered one of the best experts of the algebraic varieties.He got a degree in Rome in 1969, then a Ph.D. at the Columbia University of New York in 1973....
, Maurizio Cornalba, and Phillip Griffiths | year=1991 | volume=129 | author=William Fulton, Joe Harris.}}, with William Fulton | year=2000 | volume=197 | author=David Eisenbud, Joe Harris.}}, with David EisenbudDavid EisenbudDavid Eisenbud is an American mathematician. He is a professor of mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley and was Director of the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute from 1997 to 2007.... - Moduli of Curves ISBN 978-0387984384, with Ian Morrison.
Harris has supervised 41 Ph.D. students (as of 2011), including Rahul Pandharipande
Rahul Pandharipande
Rahul Pandharipande is a mathematician at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich , working in algebraic geometry, especially Gromov-Witten theory....
and Ravi Vakil
Ravi Vakil
Ravi D. Vakil is an American-Canadian mathematician working in algebraic geometry.Vakil attended high school at Martingrove Collegiate Institute in Etobicoke, Ontario, where he won several mathematical contests and olympiads. After earning a BSc and MSc from the University of Toronto in 1992, he...
.