Melissa Sherman-Bennett

Melissa Sherman-Bennett is a PhD student at University of California Berkeley, and is a visiting student at Harvard University from Fall 2018 to Spring 2021. Her advisor is Lauren Williams.

Her mathematical interests lie in algebraic combinatorics, particularly problems which come from trying to understand algebraic varieties. She has spent some time exploring the combinatorics of total positivity and cluster algebras, focusing on the Grassmannian and Schubert varieties. Other interests include matroids, Coxeter groups, and combinatorics related to partial flag varieties. She is visiting MPI MiS for the summer to work with Leon Zhang on buildings and their relation to cluster algebras, and perhaps to learn a little more about tropical geometry. Melissa is also excited to get a taste of many other unfamiliar topics while she's here.

Outside of the office, Melissa enjoys reading, going to bakeries, and consuming lots of chocolate.