Polina Baron

Polina Baron

Postdoctoral Fellow (Mathematics). Research in Teichmüller dynamics, translation surfaces, and ergodic theory.

Postdoctoral Fellow (Mathematics), University of Toronto

Hello! I am a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Toronto, where I work with Professor Kasra Rafi and Professor Wenyu Pan.

My research is in dynamical systems and ergodic theory, with an emphasis on Teichmüller dynamics and translation surfaces. I study rigidity and unique ergodicity phenomena, including Hodge-theoretic rigidity for \(\mathrm{SL}_2(\mathbb{R})\) actions, unique ergodicity of branched covers, and rigidity phenomena for infinite-type translation surfaces and interval-exchange transformations. I also work on integrable systems, particularly the KdV hierarchy.

Before joining the University of Toronto, I completed my Ph.D. in Mathematics at the University of Chicago under the supervision of Professor Simion Filip. Earlier, I studied at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, where I worked with Professor Alexandra (Sasha) Skripchenko.

I have also worked outside my primary research area: at Microsoft Research New York on the foundations of convex optimization, and at the Institute for Mathematical and Statistical Innovation (IMSI) on applications of topological data analysis and statistical physics to models of brain activity relevant to Alzheimer’s disease.

Outside mathematics, I write speculative fiction, crochet, and hike.