Benson Farb

Benson Stanley Farb (born October 25, 1967) is an American mathematician at the University of Chicago. His research fields include geometric group theory and low-dimensional topology.

Benson Farb
Farb at Oberwolfach, 2016
Born	(1967-10-25) October 25, 1967 (age 57)
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Cornell University Princeton University
Spouse	Amie Wilkinson ​ (m. 1996)​
Scientific career
Fields	Mathematics
Institutions	University of Chicago
Thesis	Relatively Hyperbolic And Automatic Groups With Applications To Negatively Curved Manifolds  (1994)
Doctoral advisor	William Thurston
Doctoral students	Pallavi Dani Kathryn Mann Dan Margalit Karin Melnick Andrew Putman Jennifer Taback

Early life

A native of Norristown, Pennsylvania, Farb earned his bachelor's degree from Cornell University.^{[citation needed]} In 1994, he obtained his doctorate from Princeton University, under supervision of William Thurston.^[1]

Career

Farb has advised over 40 students, including Pallavi Dani, Kathryn Mann, Dan Margalit, Karin Melnick and Andrew Putman.^[1]

In 2012 Farb became a fellow of the American Mathematical Society.^[2] In 2014 he was an invited speaker at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Seoul, speaking in the section on Topology.^[3] He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2021.^[4] In 2024 he was awarded the Leroy P. Steele Prize for Mathematical Exposition.^[5]

Books

• Benson Farb; Dan Margalit (2012). A Primer on Mapping Class Groups. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-14794-9. MR 2850125.^[6]
• Farb, Benson; Dennis, R. Keith (1993). Noncommutative Algebra. Springer-Verlag. ISBN 978-1-4612-0889-1. MR 1233388.

Personal life

Farb married Amie Wilkinson, professor of mathematics at the University of Chicago, on December 28, 1996. They are professors in the same department.^[7]