EMS Newsletter June 2010 - European Mathematical Society ...

ERCOM
equations) and modelling social interactions and biological
processes, nonlinear hyperbolic equations for water
wave modelling and traffic flowing networks and variational
methods for free-discontinuity and free-boundary
problems for image processing. Both analytical and
numerical methods are used. Dr Fornasier has recently
obtained the START-Prize of the Austrian National Science
Foundation, which allows him to build his own research
group with major external funding.
Optimization and Optimal Control
(led by Professor Karl Kunisch, Graz)
This group deals with analysis and numerics for optimal
control problems in connection with partial differential
equations. One topic concerns time-optimal control synthesis
in the context of the wave equation, using a semismooth
Newton-method. Other work includes the control
of quantum mechanical systems and closed loop control.
Mathematical Imaging
(led by Professor Otmar Scherzer, Vienna)
This group specializes in the development of partial differential
equation based algorithms for imaging problems
in biology and medicine, especially photo-acoustic
imaging, for which they also hold a patent. The mathematical
basis is regularization theory for non-local and
non-convex functionals.
Mathematical Methods in Molecular and
Systems Biology (co-leaders Professor Philipp
Kügler, Stuttgart, and Professor Christian
Schmeiser, Vienna)
This group is located in the Vienna BioCenter, close to the
biological research institutions of the university and the
Medical University of Vienna and the Austrian Academy
of Sciences. Topics addressed are numerical methods for
systems biology (with an emphasis on inverse problems)
and mathematical methods for cytoskeleton dynamics.
A major reason for establishing RICAM was, beyond the
proposed scientific work in the various groups, the close
cooperation between these groups. This was based on a
ten-year Special Research Area ‘Numerical and Symbolic
Scientific Computing’, funded by FWF. There have
been numerous joint publications between members
of the various groups and the cooperation between the
groups form (nearly) a complete graph.
Another major enterprise of RICAM is the organization
of Special Semesters, where a topic within the expertise
of the institute is systematically discussed over a period
of several months. These special semesters typically have
a dozen long-term guests and several groups of thematic
workshops with large international participation. The special
semesters so far have concerned the following topics:
2005: Special Semester on Computational Mechanics.
2006: Special Semester on Gröbner Bases.
2007: Special Semester on Quantitative Biology Analysed
by Mathematical Methods.
2008: Special Semester on Stochastics with Emphasis on
Finance.
2009/2010: Mini Special Semester on Computational
Methods for Inverse Problems.
From 03 October to 16 December 2011, a ‘Special Semester
on Multiscale Simulation and Analysis in Energy and
the Environment’ is planned; further information can be
found on the webpage of the institute (see below).
The next step of the development of the institute will
be the installation of a Transfer Group, linking RICAM to
the Industrial Mathematics Competence Centre (IMCC),
which has existed in Linz for a decade and cooperates
with industry, developing mathematics-based software for
simulation and optimization in fields like steel processing,
automotive design, finance and medical imaging.
It is the policy of the institute to (nearly) exclusively
offer limited-time contracts for Post-Docs, usually for
three years with an extension of another three years
based on performance. This strategy has been quite successful,
as is shown by the high number of offers of professorships
in Europe, America and China for our Post-
Docs. The Post-Docs are supposed to apply for external
funding for doctoral students (who formally get their degrees
at Johannes Kepler Universität, Linz), and this has
also been quite successful.
Further information about RICAM and about our
publications can be found at www.ricam.oeaw.ac.at.
Professor Heinz W. Engl, Institute Director
52 EMS Newsletter June 2010