Featured Researcher for August 2024

Dr. Benjamin Kikwai earned his Ph.D. in Geometry (Algebraic Geometry) from the prestigious Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA) in Italy. His doctoral thesis, titled “Multiplicativity of the Generating Functions for Refined Node Polynomials on Toric Surfaces” was approved cum laude in 2016. Prior to his Ph.D., Dr. Kikwai pursued a Post-Graduate Diploma in Mathematics at the International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Italy, where he researched elliptic curves and elliptic curve cryptography. He also holds a Master of Science in Pure Mathematics and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, both from the University of Nairobi, where he graduated with first-class honors.

Dr. Kikwai has held several significant appointments throughout his career. Since 2019, he has been a lecturer in pure mathematics at Machakos University, where he is involved in curriculum development, delivering lectures, academic research, and committee service. In June 2022, he was appointed as the Examination and Timetabling Coordinator, responsible for coordinating exam settings and ensuring adherence to examination regulations. In October 2021, he became the Coordinator of Income Generating Units, administering university income-generating policies and identifying business opportunities.

Dr. Kikwai’s research interests are diverse and cover several areas of mathematics. His notable work includes the paper titled “Refined Node Polynomials via Long Edge Graphs,” published in Communications in Number Theory and Physics. In this paper, the authors used long-edged graphs, which are discrete abstractions of tropical curves, to show that the generating functions for refined node polynomials associated with certain nodal curves on tropical surfaces exhibit a multiplicative nature. Additionally, Dr. Kikwai has worked on elliptic curves and their applications in cryptography, including pairing-based cryptography. Earlier in his career, he   researched the modular representation theory of the symmetric groups. He also has an interest in operations research, having worked on the university timetabling problem and implementing it as a computer application. His other publications include studies on generating functions of refined relative node polynomials, university course timetabling using mixed integer programming and Python, and the effects of magnetic induction on unsteady MHD nanofluid flow.

Dr. Kikwai has actively participated in numerous conferences and workshops, furthering his knowledge and contributing to the academic community. At the 2021 Nairobi Workshop in Algebraic Geometry, he gave several talks on enumerative geometry, tropical curves, their   abstractions, and their use in the study of enumerative geometry. Dr. Kikwai participated also in the AMS-EMS-PMS Joint International Meeting which was held at the University of Porto in 2015. Other notable conferences include the Conference on Geometric Correspondences of Gauge Theories held at ICTP Italy in 2013, the ICTP-IPM Workshop and Conference in Combinatorics and Graph Theory held at ICTP in 2012, the School and Workshop on Computational Algebra and Number Theory held at ICTP in 2021, the Summer School and Conference on Modular Forms and Mock Modular Forms  and their Applications in Arithmetics, Geometry, and Physics held at ICTP in 2011, the East African Summer School on Linear Algebra and Fast Fourier Transforms held at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda in 2010, and the Linear Algebra – From Bases to the Google PageRank Algorithm held at the University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania in 2008.

In addition to his academic pursuits, Dr. Kikwai has a keen interest in software development. He has been instrumental in creating software applications to support the Kenyan transport and logistics space, including a digital motor and marine insurance certificates application. His expertise spans multiple programming languages and frameworks, including PHP, Java, Python, R, C/C++, and JavaScript, as well as database management and server administration.       

Dr. Benjamin Kikwai’s dedication to mathematics, research, and software development makes him a valuable asset to the academic community. His contributions continue to advance the field of pure mathematics.