Francisco Santos Leal facts for kids
Francisco (Paco) Santos Leal is a famous Spanish mathematician. He was born on May 28, 1968. He works as a professor at the University of Cantabria in Spain.
Paco Santos is well-known for solving a big math problem. He found an example that proved a long-standing idea, called the Hirsch conjecture, was not always true. This was a very important discovery in a field of math called polyhedral combinatorics. In 2015, he won a special award, the Fulkerson Prize, for this amazing work.
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Early Life and Education
Paco Santos was born in Valladolid, a city in Spain. He loved math and studied it at the University of Cantabria. In 1991, he earned his first degree in mathematics there.
In the same year, he also went to France. He studied at Joseph Fourier University in Grenoble and got a master's degree in pure mathematics.
Advanced Studies
After his master's, Santos returned to the University of Cantabria. He continued his studies and earned his doctorate degree in 1995. His doctorate research was about the shapes and patterns in math, like algebraic curves.
He also studied physics! In 1996, he earned a second degree in physics from the University of Cantabria.
Career in Mathematics
After finishing his studies, Paco Santos worked at the University of Oxford for a short time. This is called postdoctoral studies. It means he did more research after his doctorate.
In 1997, he came back to the University of Cantabria. He became a teacher and researcher there. He worked very hard and became a full professor in 2008. This is a top teaching position at a university.
Leadership Roles
From 2009 to 2013, Paco Santos also had an important leadership role. He was the vice-dean of the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Cantabria. This means he helped manage the science departments.
Major Achievements
Paco Santos is most famous for his work on the Hirsch conjecture. This was a difficult problem in mathematics that many smart people had tried to solve for a long time.
Solving the Hirsch Conjecture
The Hirsch conjecture was about the shortest path on a special type of geometric shape called a polytope. Imagine a shape with flat sides, like a diamond or a cube. The conjecture suggested there was a limit to how many steps it would take to go from one corner to another.
Paco Santos found an example where this limit was broken. This is called a counterexample. It showed that the conjecture was not true in all cases. This was a huge step forward in the field of polyhedral combinatorics.
Awards and Recognition
For his groundbreaking work on the Hirsch conjecture, Paco Santos received the Fulkerson Prize in 2015. This is one of the most important awards in mathematics, especially for work in discrete mathematics.
He was also invited to speak at the 2006 International Congress of Mathematicians. This is a very big meeting where mathematicians from all over the world share their new ideas. Being invited to speak there is a great honor.
Journal Editor
Today, Paco Santos also helps share new math discoveries. He is an Editor-in-Chief for the Electronic Journal of Combinatorics. This means he helps decide which new research papers get published in the journal.
See also
In Spanish: Francisco Santos Leal para niños
