Monique Laurent

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About

Monique Laurent is a leading figure in the interplay between polynomial optimization, real algebraic geometry, and combinatorial matrix theory. Her foundational work on the moment problem and sum-of-squares (SOS) relaxations has profoundly shaped modern optimization, providing powerful tools for solving non-convex problems through semidefinite programming. She is perhaps best known for her seminal contributions to the theory of the Lasserre hierarchy, where she clarified its convergence properties and developed the key concept of "flat truncation," enabling practical detection of global optimality. Laurent's research also extends deep into graph theory and the geometry of matrices, where she has made lasting contributions to the study of positive semidefinite matrices, Euclidean distance matrices, and the Grothendieck inequality. With over 7,000 citations, her work is a cornerstone of the field, bridging abstract algebraic geometry with computational tractability. Among her many honors, she is a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, and her 2008 paper on computing real varieties remains a standard reference for algebraic methods in optimization.