Scott Duke Kominers

Harvard University, Harvard University Press

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Scott Duke Kominers is a mathematician and economist whose work bridges geometry, combinatorics, and market design. He is best known for his landmark proof on hinged dissections—showing that any finite collection of equal-area polygons can be transformed into one another through a continuous, non-self-intersecting chain of hinged pieces. This result, published in 2008 and refined in 2011 (with 27 and 8 citations respectively), resolved a long-standing open problem in discrete geometry and has implications for reconfigurable robotics and folding algorithms. Kominers also made early contributions to modular robotics, proving that a system of cubic modules can universally reconfigure into any shape through sliding and rotating moves—a foundational result for self-assembling structures. Beyond these technical achievements, he is a prolific mentor and public intellectual, known for his engaging writing on economics and academia. His work has been recognized with multiple honors, including a Harvard Junior Fellowship and the prestigious Sloan Research Fellowship. With a career that spans pure mathematics, theoretical computer science, and economic theory, Kominers exemplifies how abstract geometric insights can inform practical design and policy.