My name is Ivan Aidun (last name pronunciation: ay-DUNE, IPA: /ɛjˈdun/).
I am a recent Math Ph.D, I graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in May, 2026. My advisor was Jordan Ellenberg.

I am a number theorist, and my specific area of interest is arithmetic geometry, which, broadly speaking, asks questions about the structure of rational number solutions to systems of multivariate polynomial equations. My thesis work is about an invariant called the “strength” of a polynomial $f$ in many variables, which is the least number $r$ so that $f$ can be written as a sum of $r$ reducible polynomials. What interests me about strength is that the statement ‘‘$f$ has low strength’’ can be viewed as a generalization of the statement ‘‘$f$ has a rational solution’’, and I am pursuing this idea by asking questions about polynomials with low strength inspired by questions people have asked about polynomials with rational solutions. A more technical description can be found on my Research page.

While I was a graduate student, I was an organizer for the UW–Madison Directed Reading Program and for the UW–Madison AMS Student Chapter (a.k.a. Donut Seminar).

Office: Van Vleck 101
Email: my surname, wisc.edu
Pronouns: he/him