Mathematical Genealogy

Close relations of the Top 100, by proximity score

Every PhD mathematician has an advisor, and every advisor has an advisor. The Mathematics Genealogy Project catalogs this lineage. We use it to surface close relations: researchers not in the Top 100 by publication count, but who sit in its immediate orbit through advisor-student relationships.

How the proximity score works

We build one graph from the advisor and student trees of all Top 100 researchers. A close relation is an outsider directly tied (as advisor or student) to at least two Top 100 researchers. Each gets a proximity score that sums, over those direct ties, 101 minus the connected researcher's rank. Being tied to the top of the list counts for much more than being tied to the bottom. Only direct ties count; people already in the directory and deceased mathematicians are excluded.

What this crawl covered

We crawled the advisor and student trees of the 66 Top 100 researchers who have an entry in the Mathematics Genealogy Project, and every node in those trees was fetched. The remaining 18 of the 84 have no entry in that database, so their lineage cannot be traced and this page cannot speak for them.

Level L1

Level L2

Level L3

Notes

• Olli Järviniemi (University of Turku, 2023): A mathematician (PhD Turun yliopisto, 2023) directly tied to 2 Top 100 researchers through advisor-student relationships in the genealogy network.
• Jared Duker Lichtman (University of Oxford, 2023): A mathematician (PhD University of Oxford, 2023) directly tied to 2 Top 100 researchers through advisor-student relationships in the genealogy network.
• Lior Bary-Soroker (Tel Aviv University, 2008): A mathematician (PhD Tel Aviv University, 2008) directly tied to 2 Top 100 researchers through advisor-student relationships in the genealogy network.
• Peter Sarnak (Stanford University, 1980): A mathematician (PhD Stanford University, 1980) directly tied to 2 Top 100 researchers through advisor-student relationships in the genealogy network.
• Debmalya Basak (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2025): A mathematician (PhD University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2025) directly tied to 2 Top 100 researchers through advisor-student relationships in the genealogy network.
• Peng Gao (University of Michigan, 2005): A mathematician (PhD University of Michigan, 2005) directly tied to 2 Top 100 researchers through advisor-student relationships in the genealogy network.
• Emmanuel Kowalski (Rutgers University, New Brunswick, 1998): A mathematician (PhD Rutgers University, New Brunswick, 1998) directly tied to 2 Top 100 researchers through advisor-student relationships in the genealogy network.
• Kevin Henriot (Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 and Université de Montréal, 2014): A mathematician (PhD Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 and Université de Montréal, 2014) directly tied to 2 Top 100 researchers through advisor-student relationships in the genealogy network.
• Michael Filaseta (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 1984): A mathematician (PhD University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1984) directly tied to 2 Top 100 researchers through advisor-student relationships in the genealogy network.
• Paul Spiegelhalter (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2014): A mathematician (PhD University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2014) directly tied to 2 Top 100 researchers through advisor-student relationships in the genealogy network.
• Kevin James (University of Georgia, 1997): A mathematician (PhD University of Georgia, 1997) directly tied to 2 Top 100 researchers through advisor-student relationships in the genealogy network.
• Ken Ono (University of California, Los Angeles, 1993): A mathematician (PhD University of California, Los Angeles, 1993) directly tied to 2 Top 100 researchers through advisor-student relationships in the genealogy network.
• Huafeng Liu (Shandong University, 2017): A mathematician (PhD Shandong University, 2017) directly tied to 2 Top 100 researchers through advisor-student relationships in the genealogy network.
• Taiyu Li (Shandong University, 2012): A mathematician (PhD Shandong University, 2012) directly tied to 2 Top 100 researchers through advisor-student relationships in the genealogy network.
• Steven M. Gonek (University of Michigan, 1979): A mathematician (PhD University of Michigan, 1979) directly tied to 2 Top 100 researchers through advisor-student relationships in the genealogy network.
• Dorian Goldfeld (Columbia University, 1969): A mathematician (PhD Columbia University, 1969) directly tied to 2 Top 100 researchers through advisor-student relationships in the genealogy network.