Professor Federico Ardila

Profile

Federico Ardila obtained his BSc and PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and did his postdoctoral work jointly at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley and the Microsoft Theory Group. After a professorship at San Francisco State University, he joined QMUL in 2026. 

Federico's research lies at the intersection of combinatorics, algebra, and geometry. He studies the connections between these areas, and the ways they learn from each other's philosophies and techniques. 

In all his professional endeavours, Federico works towards fostering an increasingly just, equitable, and welcoming community of mathematicians that benefits from our differences and serves the needs of all communities.

Leadership

Federico's Todxs Cuentan (Everyone Counts) and SFSU-Colombia Combinatorics initiatives are seen internationally as a model of inclusive excellence. His co-directorship of the MSRI-UP research programmes for undergraduates from underrepresented US minorities was recognised with the "Mathematics Programs that Make a Difference" Award of the American Mathematical Society. 

Teaching

Federico's teaching was recognised with the "National Haimo Teaching Award" of the Mathematical Association of America. His innovative methods have been profiled in popular outlets like the BBC, The Atlantic, and Quanta Magazine. He also contributes to popular science outreach efforts like Numberphile, Quanta Magazine, and Scientific American, and a broad range of educational programmes.

Research

Research Interests:

In matroid theory, combinatorial Hodge theory, and intersection theory, Federico and his co-authors have contributed foundational constructions and results, and proved decades' old conjectures. In polyhedral geometry, they have constructed important families of polytopes, understood various ways of measuring them, and used them to derive algebraic, geometric, and physical consequences. 

Federico was an Invited Speaker in the International Congress of Mathematicians, the Clay Lecturer in the British Combinatorics Conference, a Member of the Institute for Advanced Study, in Princeton a Simons Research Professor of the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley, and a Fellow of the American Math Society. His research has received 18 years of continuous funding from the UK Royal Society and the US National Science Foundation, including the NSF CAREER Award.