Dickenstein Alicia

Alicia Dickenstein is an Argentine mathematician known for her work on algebraic geometry, particularly toric geometry, tropical geometry, and their applications to biological systems. She is a full professor at the University of Buenos Aires, a 2019 Fellow of the American Mathematical Society, a former vice-president of the International Mathematical Union (2015–2018), and a 2015 recipient of The World Academy of Sciences prize.

Her research focuses on using Algebraic geometry and combinatorics to predict behaviours of Biological systems without knowing precise parameters. In joint work with Mercedes Pérez Millán allows researchers to prove general results valid in certain networks.

In 2015, Dickenstein received the TWAS Prize from The World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science in developing countries. In 2018, Dickenstein was elected as a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society for contributions to computational algebra and its applications, especially in systems biology, and for global leadership in supporting underrepresented groups in mathematics. That year, she was also named a Full Member of the National Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences of Argentina. In 2020 she was named a SIAM Fellow for contributions to algebraic geometry and its applications within geometric modeling and in the study of biochemical reaction networks.

In 2021, Dickenstein received the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Award for the Latin America and Caribbean region. She was recognized for her outstanding contributions at the forefront of mathematical innovation by leveraging algebraic geometry in the field of molecular biology. Her research enables scientists to understand the structures and behavior of cells and molecules, even on a microscopic scale. Operating at the frontier between pure and applied mathematics, she has forged important links to physics and chemistry and enabled biologists to gain an in-depth structural understanding of biochemical reactions and enzymatic networks. In 2023 she was granted the Konex Award Merit Diploma for her work in Mathematics in the last decade.