Will Sawin

Will Sawin obtained his PhD in 2016 from Princeton University, under the supervision of Nicholas Katz. Since then he has worked with Emmanuel Kowalski as a Junior Fellow at ETH Zürich.

Sawin’s research is wide ranging, but focused on the interactions of analytic number theory and algebraic geometry.  Amongst the many areas in which he has made ground-breaking contributions are the application of étale cohomology to estimates of exponential sums over finite fields and, with Tim Browning, the adaptation of classical counting arguments in analytic number theory to explore compactly supported cohomology in spaces of interest in algebraic geometry.  In a recent paper with Kowalski and Philippe Michel, he used ℓ-adic cohomology to derive new bounds on certain bilinear forms that regularly arise in the study of automorphic forms.  There are important applications, for example in the theory of twisted L-functions.  He has also made many wider contributions to the mathematical community, not least through regular posts on diverse topics on the MathOverflow website.

Will was appointed as a Clay Research Fellow for a term of three years beginning 1 July 2018.