Daniel Biss
Encyclopedia
Daniel Kálmán Biss is an American
mathematician
and State Representative for the 17th district in the Illinois House of Representatives
, serving since 2011. The district includes Chicago's northern suburbs, including Evanston
, Glencoe
, Glenview
, Golf
, Morton Grove, Northbrook
, Northfield
, Skokie, Wilmette, and Winnetka
.
. Biss attended Bloomington High School North
in Bloomington, Indiana
, graduating in 1995. He subsequently earned his undergraduate degree at Harvard University
, graduating summa cum laude, and his Ph.D. at MIT
in 2002, both in mathematics. He won the 1999 Morgan Prize
for his outstanding research as an undergraduate, and was a Clay Research Fellow
from 2002 to 2007. His doctoral advisor was Michael J. Hopkins
.
Prior to running for State Representative, Biss was an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the University of Chicago
. He published several papers about Grassmannian manifolds
in prestigious journals, including the Annals of Mathematics, that later were discovered to contain a flaw which rendered the proofs invalid. By this point Biss was working on other research areas, and so his collaborator Laura Anderson (who was working on this topic) took charge of fixing the mistake. When the flaw was unable to be corrected Nikolai Mnev, a Russian mathematician who had independently discovered the error and had been corresponding with Anderson (and had previously collaborated with Anderson), publicized the error. In 2008 (by which time he had gone into politics and was no longer a practicing mathematician), Biss issued retractions to the journals, which were subsequently published.
Biss created and wrote the mathematics for An Abundance of Katherines
, a novel by Vlogbrothers
creator and author John Green
, a friend of Biss.
in 2010. Biss is a supporter of labor unions and has received $20,000 from AFSCME, the second largest donation to a state legislator.
..
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
and State Representative for the 17th district in the Illinois House of Representatives
Illinois House of Representatives
The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The state House of Representatives is made of 118 representatives elected from...
, serving since 2011. The district includes Chicago's northern suburbs, including Evanston
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
, Glencoe
Glencoe, Illinois
Glencoe is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 8,723. Glencoe is located on suburban Chicago's North Shore. Glencoe is located within the New Trier High School District. Glencoe is regarded as one of the most affluent suburbs on...
, Glenview
Glenview, Cook County, Illinois
Glenview is a suburban village located approximately north of downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 41,847...
, Golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, Morton Grove, Northbrook
Northbrook, Illinois
Northbrook is a village located at the northern edge of Cook County, Illinois, which is also a North Shore suburb of Chicago. The population was 33,170 at the 2010 census....
, Northfield
Northfield, Illinois
Northfield is an affluent village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located approximately north of Chicago. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 5,389...
, Skokie, Wilmette, and Winnetka
Winnetka, Illinois
Winnetka is an affluent North Shore village located approximately north of downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois. Winnetka was featured on the list of America's 25 top-earning towns and "one of the best places to live" by CNN Money in 2011...
.
Personal life, education and mathematical career
Biss was born into a family of musicians, and his brother is the noted pianist Jonathan BissJonathan Biss
Jonathan Biss is an American classical pianist.Biss represents the third generation in a family of professional musicians, which includes his grandmother Raya Garbousova , as well as his parents, the Israeli-born violinist Miriam Fried and the violist Paul Biss...
. Biss attended Bloomington High School North
Bloomington High School North
Bloomington High School North is a comprehensive four-year public high school located in the northern part of Bloomington, Indiana, United States and is accredited by the Indiana State Department of Public Instruction and the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools...
in Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
, graduating in 1995. He subsequently earned his undergraduate degree at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, graduating summa cum laude, and his Ph.D. at MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in 2002, both in mathematics. He won the 1999 Morgan Prize
Morgan Prize
The Morgan Prize in Mathematics may refer to:* Frank and Brennie Morgan Prize for Outstanding Research in Mathematics by an Undergraduate Student awarded jointly by the American Mathematical Society, Mathematical Association of America and Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics* De Morgan...
for his outstanding research as an undergraduate, and was a Clay Research Fellow
Clay Mathematics Institute
The Clay Mathematics Institute is a private, non-profit foundation, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Institute is dedicated to increasing and disseminating mathematical knowledge. It gives out various awards and sponsorships to promising mathematicians. The institute was founded in 1998...
from 2002 to 2007. His doctoral advisor was Michael J. Hopkins
Michael J. Hopkins
Michael Jerome Hopkins is an American mathematician known for work in algebraic topology.-Life:He received his Ph.D. from Northwestern University in 1984 under the direction of Mark Mahowald. In 1984 he also received his D.Phil...
.
Prior to running for State Representative, Biss was an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. He published several papers about Grassmannian manifolds
Grassmannian
In mathematics, a Grassmannian is a space which parameterizes all linear subspaces of a vector space V of a given dimension. For example, the Grassmannian Gr is the space of lines through the origin in V, so it is the same as the projective space P. The Grassmanians are compact, topological...
in prestigious journals, including the Annals of Mathematics, that later were discovered to contain a flaw which rendered the proofs invalid. By this point Biss was working on other research areas, and so his collaborator Laura Anderson (who was working on this topic) took charge of fixing the mistake. When the flaw was unable to be corrected Nikolai Mnev, a Russian mathematician who had independently discovered the error and had been corresponding with Anderson (and had previously collaborated with Anderson), publicized the error. In 2008 (by which time he had gone into politics and was no longer a practicing mathematician), Biss issued retractions to the journals, which were subsequently published.
Biss created and wrote the mathematics for An Abundance of Katherines
An Abundance of Katherines
An Abundance of Katherines is a young adult novel by John Green. Released in 2006, it was a finalist for the Michael L. Printz Award.An appendix explaining some of the more complex equations Colin uses throughout the story was written by Daniel Biss, a close friend to Green.-Plot summary:Colin...
, a novel by Vlogbrothers
Vlogbrothers
The Vlogbrothers are two American vloggers, John Green and Hank Green, who host a YouTube channel together. The two began with their Brotherhood 2.0 project before continuing their channel as regular vloggers. While they frequently use their channel to educate their viewers, the Green brothers also...
creator and author John Green
John Green
John Willison Green is a retired Canadian journalist and a leading researcher into the Bigfoot phenomenon. He is a graduate of both the University of British Columbia and Columbia University and has a database of more than 3000 sighting and track reports, leading some to affectionately refer to...
, a friend of Biss.
Committee assignments
- Appropriations – Elementary & Secondary Education
- Personnel & Pensions
- Consumer Protection
- Small Business Empowerment & Workforce Development
- International Trade & Commerce
- Bio-Technology
- Appropriations – Higher Education.
Electoral history
| Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Daniel K. Biss | 25,959 | 49% | Elizabeth Coulson | 27,540 | 51% | ||
| 2010 | Daniel K. Biss | 23,134 | 55% | Hamilton Chang | 19,096 | 45% | ||
Political views
According to a 2008 Political Courage Test, Daniel Biss supports carbon emissions limits. Biss is pro-choice, supporting legal abortion. He supports allowing illegal immigrant high school graduates to pay in-state tuition at public universities, as well as state funding to raise the salaries of teachers.. He received rating F by the NRANational Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
in 2010. Biss is a supporter of labor unions and has received $20,000 from AFSCME, the second largest donation to a state legislator.
State Senate campaign
On November 10, 2011, Biss announced his intent to run for the Illinois Senate seat, currently held by retiring Senator Jeffrey SchoenbergJeffrey Schoenberg
Jeffrey Schoenberg is a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 9th district since 2003. He earlier served for six terms in the Illinois House of Representatives, first elected to that position in 1990.- Senate career :...
..
Selected works
- See also
- See also
- See also
External links
- State Representative Daniel Biss Official webpage on the Illinois General Assembly website
- Daniel Biss for State Representative Official campaign website
- Democrat Daniel Biss Takes 17th District Illinois House Seat
- Democrat Biss apparently captures former GOP state House seat
- Biss wins in Illinois 17th House
- Project Vote Smart - Daniel K. Biss