Kick-off Conference of the New Collaborative Research Centre
Imagine Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo making a guest appearance at Paderborn SC - a comparable level of internationally recognised expertise in mathematical research has now come together at Paderborn University. The international conference ‘Integral Structures in Geometry and Representation Theory’ took place here from 9 to 13 September. With high-calibre speakers, it attracted renowned mathematicians from all over the world, such as Maryna Viazovska and Efim Zelmanov, both winners of the Fields Medal.
‘The Fields Medal is the highest honour a mathematician can receive. It is only awarded to two to four recipients every four years and is comparable to the title of ‘World Footballer of the Year’. However, the other plenary speakers are in no way inferior to them in terms of their scientific renown,’ explains Prof Dr Igor Burban, Professor at the Paderborn Institute of Mathematics and co-spokesperson of the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) TRR 358 “Integer Structures in Geometry and Representation Theory”.
Collaborative Research Centres are the flagships of funding by the German Research Foundation (DFG). This CRC, which is jointly funded by Bielefeld and Paderborn Universities, provides 2.5 million euros annually to advance basic research in mathematics. After more than a year of preparation, the kick-off conference has now taken place in Paderborn, bringing together 70 invited speakers and almost 300 participants from all over the world.
Not only does the international research community benefit from this funding, but local students are also given the opportunity to gain valuable insights through dialogue with leading scientists. ‘It's great that so many top international mathematicians are here in Paderborn and that we have the opportunity to get to know their fascinating research,’ says Carlo Kaul, who attended almost all of the lectures as a student. Kaul already took part in maths courses at Paderborn University as a school student during his time at Pelizaeus-Gymnasium. Although he had been accepted for a Master's programme at the renowned universities of Oxford and Cambridge, he made a conscious decision in favour of Paderborn.
‘The conditions for studying mathematics at Paderborn University are indeed excellent,’ explains Prof Dr Tobias Weich, Head of the Institute of Mathematics. ‘We offer a combination of small student groups, a first-class education and a very active research environment.’ Paderborn University not only enables its students to network internationally, but also creates the best conditions for working and learning in a dynamic research environment.
For Burban and his colleagues, the conference ‘Integral Structures in Geometry and Representation Theory’ is just the beginning: ‘This conference is an important step towards establishing Paderborn University even more strongly as an international research centre. We look forward to welcoming top mathematicians from all over the world here in the future.’
This text was translated automatically.
