"My work as a researcher consists of advancing the natural theoretical development of mathematics"

Prof. Javier F. de Bobadilla has obtained one of the R&D+i 2020 Projects - Modalities "Research Challenges" and "Knowledge Generation" from the State Research Agency

Prof. Javier Fernández de Bobadilla, leader of the Singularity Theory and Algebraic Geometry group at the Basque Center for Applied Mathematics - BCAM and professor at Ikerbasque since 2015, has a PhD in Mathematics since 2001 and did his doctorate at the University of Nijmgen (The Netherlands). His research experience has been developed at the University of Nijmengen, the University of Utrecht, the UNED and the CSIC previously. He is a member of the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton), and has been visiting professor at the RENYI Institute of Mathematics (Hungary) and IMPA (Brazil).

Singularities in Algebraic Geometry and their interactions with Topology, Metric Geometry and Simplectic Geometry (STAG) belongs to the "research challenges" modality of the state R&D&I 2020 programme. His research focuses on the field of algebraic geometry where the main task is to advance the theoretical body in mathematics. In addition, as part of algebraic geometry, they also have applications in cryptography.

"My work as a researcher consists of developing mathematics driven by curiosity and the natural internal development of mathematics," explains Prof. Javier Fernández de Bobadilla. "Applications often appear once the theories reach maturity. There are several examples throughout history, such as the algebraic developments that motivated Abel and Galois, around the solvability of polynomial equations, which later found a multitude of applications (for example, in cryptography and cybersecurity), or the development of Differential and Riemannian Geometry, without which Einstein could not have formulated his theories". 

The principal investigator and his team will continue to work on this project in order to provide new theories to existing problems.  "It is better to measure science by the depth of its results and not by projects achieved or bibliometrics, which give a very indirect and distorted measure of the quality of research," says Fernández de Bobadilla, referring to his work as a researcher in the field of Singularities in Algebraic Geometry.