Lilit Martirosyan

Dr. Lilit Martirosyan

Associate Professor of Mathematics
University of North Carolina Wilmington

About Me

I am a mathematician working in the area of non-associative algebras, representation theory, and number theory.
My research focuses on the representation theory of Lie conformal algebras, quantum Lie algebras, and Lie superalgebras, which play a central role in theoretical physics — including conformal field theory, quantum physics, and string theory.

More recently, I have also been developing work in algebraic and analytic number theory, particularly on cyclotomic polynomials and related arithmetic structures.

Education

Ph.D. in Mathematics, University of California, Berkeley, 2013
Supervisors: Prof. Vera Serganova and Prof. Joseph A. Wolf

Academic Appointments

Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics & Statistics,
University of North Carolina Wilmington (2017 – present)
Stefan E. Warschawski Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics,
University of California San Diego (2013 – 2016)
Supervisor: Prof. Efim Zelmanov
Postdoctoral Fellow, Max Planck Institute for Mathematics, Bonn, Germany (2016 – 2017)
Supervisor: Prof. Yuri Manin

Recent Activities

2026

October 8–10, 2026 — Lead Organizer, North Carolina Algebra and Mathematical Physics Conference (NCAMP 2026)

University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, North Carolina

Co-organizing with Prof. Corey Jones (North Carolina State University) an international conference bringing together researchers and students in algebra, representation theory, tensor categories, mathematical physics, and related areas.

September 13–18, 2026 — Reviewer, 13th Heidelberg Laureate Forum, Heidelberg, Germany

Serving as an appointed reviewer for the 2026 Heidelberg Laureate Forum, evaluating applications from early-career researchers in mathematics. Attending the Forum, which brings selected young researchers together with recipients of major international awards in mathematics and computer science.

September 6–11, 2026 — Oberwolfach Research Fellow, Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach, Germany

Research collaboration with Dr. Pieter Moree (Max Planck Institute for Mathematics) on cyclotomic polynomials, extremal coefficient growth, and Vaughan pairs. The fellowship project, Cyclotomic Polynomials with Very Large Coefficients II, continues our joint research on the structural and arithmetic properties of cyclotomic polynomials.

June 25, 2026 — National Science Foundation Award

Awarded a $35,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (DMS-2619069) to support the 2026 North Carolina Algebra and Mathematical Physics Conference (NCAMP 2026), organized jointly with Prof. Corey Jones of North Carolina State University.

May 27, 2026 — Oberwolfach Research Fellowship

Jointly awarded an Oberwolfach Research Fellowship with Dr. Pieter Moree of the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics to support collaborative research at the Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach on cyclotomic polynomials, extremal coefficient growth, and Vaughan pairs.

April 22, 2026 — UNCW Research and Innovation Grant

Received a $10,000 grant from the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Office of Research and Innovation to support an interdisciplinary Mathematics–Physics Seminar, co-organized with Prof. Tim Daniels. The seminar brings together researchers and students from mathematics and physics through invited lectures, collaborative discussions, and activities connecting the two disciplines.

April 17, 2026 — Invited Speaker and Research Visitor, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Utica, New York

Talk: From Braids to Symmetry: Reconstruction of Tensor Categories of Type G₂

Invited by Prof. Darlayne Addabbo to give a mathematics seminar talk and participate in a research visit focused on collaborative work in vertex operator algebras and moduli spaces.

January 7, 2026 — Invited Speaker, Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM)
AWM Special Session on Women in Mathematical Physics
Invited presentation in the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) Special Session on recent research developments in mathematical physics.

2025

September 20–27, 2025 — Research Visitor, Max Planck Institute for Mathematics, Bonn, Germany
Invited research visit focused on number theory and cyclotomic polynomials.

September 13–20, 2025 — Reviewer and Alumni Participant, Heidelberg Laureate Forum, Germany
Invited participant and program reviewer for the 2025 Heidelberg Laureate Forum — a prestigious international event connecting early-career researchers with laureates of the Fields Medal, Abel Prize, Turing Award, and ACM Prize in Computing.

July 6–10, 2025 — Research Visitor, University of Pennsylvania
Collaborative visit with Prof. Angela Gibney (University of Pennsylvania) on vertex operator algebras and moduli spaces.

March 23 – 28, 2025 — Lead Organizer, “Women in Noncommutative Algebras and Representation Theory 4 (WINART 4)”

Banff International Research Station (BIRS), Alberta, Canada

Served as lead organizer for the fourth WINART workshop at BIRS, a major international event highlighting women’s research in noncommutative algebra and representation theory.

WINART Leadership Team (since 2022): Lilit Martirosyan (UNC Wilmington), Darlayne Addabbo (SUNY Polytechnic Institute), Ellen Kirkman (Wake Forest University), Maitreyee Kulkarni (NC State University).

Workshop Details →

2024

September 29 – October 11, 2024 — Oberwolfach Research Fellow, Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach (Germany)
Research collaboration with Prof. Hans Wenzl on categorical and Hecke algebraic structures.
View Fellowship Listing →

September 22–27, 2024 — Participant and Reviewer, Heidelberg Laureate Forum (Germany)
Invited as a returning alumni participant and reviewer for the 2025 HLF program.

May 25, 2024 — Invited Speaker, North Carolina State University
Talk: Tensor Categories of Lie Type G₂

April 3, 2024 — Invited Speaker and Visitor, Università degli Studi Roma Tre (Italy)
Invited talk and research visit with Prof. Francesco Pappalardi.

With Dennis Sullivan and young researcherhs at Heidelberg Laureate Forum 2025