Erica Klarreich

Contributing Correspondent

Latest Articles

Statistics Postdoc Tames Decades-Old Geometry Problem

March 1, 2021

To the surprise of experts in the field, a postdoctoral statistician has solved one of the most important problems in high-dimensional convex geometry.

Computer Scientists Achieve ‘Crown Jewel’ of Cryptography

November 10, 2020

A cryptographic master tool called indistinguishability obfuscation has for years seemed too good to be true. Three researchers have figured out that it can work.

Computer Scientists Break Traveling Salesperson Record

October 8, 2020

After 44 years, there’s finally a better way to find approximate solutions to the notoriously difficult traveling salesperson problem.

Mathematicians Report New Discovery About the Dodecahedron

August 31, 2020

Three mathematicians have resolved a fundamental question about straight paths on the 12-sided Platonic solid.

Landmark Math Proof Clears Hurdle in Top Erdős Conjecture

August 3, 2020

Two mathematicians have proved the first leg of Paul Erdős’ all-time favorite problem about number patterns.

A Number Theorist Who Solves the Hardest Easy Problems

July 1, 2020

In his rapid ascent to the top of his field, James Maynard has cut a path through simple-sounding questions about prime numbers that have stumped mathematicians for centuries.

In a Single Measure, Invariants Capture the Essence of Math Objects

June 2, 2020

To distinguish between fundamentally different objects, mathematicians turn to invariants that encode the objects’ essential features.

Graduate Student Solves Decades-Old Conway Knot Problem

May 19, 2020

It took Lisa Piccirillo less than a week to answer a long-standing question about a strange knot discovered over half a century ago by the legendary John Conway.

‘Amazing’ Math Bridge Extended Beyond Fermat’s Last Theorem

April 6, 2020

Mathematicians have figured out how to expand the reach of a mysterious bridge connecting two distant continents in the mathematical world.

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