Profile picture

Giordano Favi

EPFL SB SMA-GE
MA A2 365 (Bâtiment MA)
Station 8
1015 Lausanne

Expertise

Research: Non associative Algebra, Category Theory, Triangulated Category Theory, Balmer-Witt Theory,  Quadratic Forms in Characteristic 2, Galois Theory, Essential dimension, Tensor Triangular Geometry
Teaching:  Algebra (Associative, Linear, Commutative or not),  Differential Calculus , Algebraic Geometry/Topology, etc.

Current work

Teaching: My current work at EPFL is half time dedicated to teaching mathematics for 1st year students. It is very important to give satisfactory introductory courses to first year students: future engineers need solid basis in mathematics and that is the purpose of my courses.
I also share with passion my vision of mathematics which is a beautiful tool for expressing elaborate constructions by supervising semestre projects in Category Theory.

Research: Categorical Topology, (Higher) Category Theory, Topos Theory, Tensor Triangular Geometry, Essential Dimension, Number Theory, Logic, Applications of Category Theory to non mathematical problems.

Mission

My vision in teaching mathematics is to provide simple explanations for complex concepts. I also like to explain mathematical theories using analogy and comparison with everyday examples.

Education

Ph.D

| Mathematics

2003 – 2003 Universite de Lausanne
Directed by Prof. Manuel Ojanguren

Master

| Mathematics

1999 – 1999 Universite de Lausanne
Directed by Prof. Manuel Ojanguren

Bachelor

| Mathematics

1998 – 1998 Universite de Lausanne

Professionals experiences

Scientific Collaborator

Lecturer

Lecturer

Scientific Collaborator

Lecturer

Guest researcher

Guest researcher

Post-doc

Post-doc

Post-doc

Doctoral Assistant

Awards

Coolest Teacher on Earth

University of Antarctic City - North Pole, Antarctica - Planet Earth PO Box 0000

2020

Selected publications

Generalized tensor idempotents and the Telescope Conjecture.

Paul Balmer, Giordano Favi
Published in Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society (3), 102, no.6 (2011), 1161-1185 in 2011

Tori and essential dimension.

Giordano Favi, Mathieu Florence
Published in Journal of Algebra, Volume 319, (2008), 3885-3900. in

Gluing techniques in triangular geometry.

Paul Balmer, Giordano Favi
Published in Quarterly Journal of Mathematics, Volume 58, (2007), 415-441 in

Essential dimension of cubics.

Grégory Berhuy, Giordano Favi
Published in Journal of Algebra, Volume 278, (2004), 199-216. in

Essential dimension: A functorial point of view (After A. Merkurjev).

Gregory Berhuy, Giordano Favi
Published in Documenta Math. Vol. 8 (2003), 279-330 in

First steps in R-homotopy

Jean Fasel, Giordano Favi
Published in Unpublished in 2006

Morphisms are not triangulated

Paul Balmer, Giordano Favi
Published in Unpublished in 2005

A rational PGLn versal torsor, n odd

Giordano Favi, Mathieu Florence
Published in Unpublished in 2006

Closed essential dimension

Giordano Favi, Michel Matthey (RIP)
Published in Unpublished in 2004

Normal essential di- mension and the topological essential dimension.

Giordano Favi, Michel Matthey (RIP)
Published in Unfinished and unpublished in 2004

Research

Category Theory

My main research interest is in Category Theory and its generalizations to higher dimensions. This branch of mathematics has the potential to be applied to all kind of science. It even has an entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:
"Category theory has come to occupy a central position in contemporary mathematics and theoretical computer science, and is also applied to mathematical physics. Roughly, it is a general mathematical theory of structures and of systems of structures. As category theory is still evolving, its functions are correspondingly developing, expanding and multiplying. At minimum, it is a powerful language, or conceptual framework, allowing us to see the universal components of a family of structures of a given kind, and how structures of different kinds are interrelated. Category theory is both an interesting object of philosophical study, and a potentially powerful formal tool for philosophical investigations of concepts such as space, system, and even truth. It can be applied to the study of logical systems in which case category theory is called "categorical doctrines" at the syntactic, proof-theoretic, and semantic levels. Category theory is an alternative to set theory as a foundation for mathematics. As such, it raises many issues about mathematical ontology and epistemology. Category theory thus affords philosophers and logicians much to use and reflect upon. [...]"
To quote one of my favorite mathematicians:
"In the years between 1920 and 1940 there occurred, as you know, a complete reformation of the classification of different branches of mathematics, necessitated by a new conception of the essence of mathematical thinking itself, which originated from the works of Cantor and Hilbert. From the latter there sprang the systematic axiomatization of mathematical science in entirety and the fundamental concept of mathematical structure. What you may perhaps be unaware of is that mathematics is about to go through a second revolution at this very moment. This is the one which is in a way completing the work of the first revolution, namely, which is releasing mathematics from the far too narrow conditions by

Teaching & PhD

Past courses

Mathématiques pour Architectes - Mathématiques Générales pour Biologie et Pharmacie (UNIL) -Analyse 2 -Algebra -Topology -Group Theory -Linear Algebra -Algebraic Topology -Commutative Algebra -Introduction to Category Theory -Analyse I -Algèbre linéaire

Courses

Analysis A (for MAN)

PREPA-031(a)

This course offers the basic tools in calculus and in solving of equations and inequations on real and complex numbers. The course explores the study of elementary fonctions and is a basis for the calculus course.

Linear Algebra

MATH-111(d)

The purpose of the course is to introduce the basic notions of linear algebra and its applications.