The London Mathematical Society (LMS) congratulates Professor Dame Frances Kirwan on her recent award of the 2021 Royal Society Sylvester Medal.
Dame Frances received the award for ‘her research on quotients in algebraic geometry, including links with symplectic geometry and topology, which has had many applications’. She has made significant contributions in moduli spaces in algebraic geometry, geometric invariant theory (GIT), and the link between GIT and moment maps in symplectic geometry. Her work endeavours to understand the structure of geometric objects by subtle investigation of their algebraic and topological properties, and her research led to the introduction of the Kirwan map. The Society is particularly pleased to see recognition for Professor Kirwan’s work and the part she has played in the development and dissemination of mathematical knowledge, including to the global mathematical sciences community, which are core aims of the Society.
Professor Kirwan was аĿª½±President from 2003-05 and she has contributed to the business of the Society including as a member of Council, Prizes Committee, the Women in Mathematics Committee (now the Committee for Women and Diversity in Mathematics), the Publications Nominating Group and as an Editor of the аĿª½±Journal of Topology. She was awarded a Whitehead Prize in 1989 and a Senior Whitehead Prize in 2013. Professor Kirwan was also the Society’s Mary Cartwright Lecturer in 2002.
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