Michael Stillman


Michael Eugene Stillman is an American mathematician working in computational algebraic geometry and commutative algebra. He is a Professor of Mathematics at Cornell University. He is known for being one of the creators of the Macaulay2 computer algebra system.

Education and career

Michael Stillman completed his Ph.D. at Harvard University in 1983 under the direction of David Mumford. He had postdoctoral positions at the University of Chicago, Brandeis University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before moving to a permanent position at Cornell University in 1987.
Stillman is best known for his work on computer algebra systems. In 1983, he began work with Dave Bayer on the Macaulay computer algebra system, which they continued to improve until 1993. To get beyond several limitations in the design of Macaulay, Stillman and Daniel Grayson began work on the Macaulay2 system in 1993. Macaulay2 remains in active development as of 2019, and has been cited in over 2000 articles.
Stillman has over 30 mathematical publications, and has advised 11 Ph.D. students.

Awards and honors