Personnel announcements

László Székelyhidi understands "mathematics in the sciences" as a great challenge but also as a great opportunity since it opens up to him both research on mathematical problems motivated by questions in the sciences and, on the other hand, the creation of theoretical foundations that in turn serve the applied sciences. "I will certainly be doing both. An important aspect of my work is that the Max Planck Institute is part of a huge network of research institutes, most of which belong to the applied sciences. I look forward to collaborating with the researchers at the Max Planck Institute and other institutions doing research, for example, in fluid dynamics, turbulence, astrophysics, and meteorology." László Székelyhidi is looking forward to his new working environment. He will initially hold this new position part-time, in addition to his full-time Professorship for Applied Mathematics at the Mathematical Institute of the University of Leipzig. László Székelyhidi also wants to draw on his 11 years of experience as a university professor to motivate, encourage and guide young scientists on their way to a scientific career. He considers the long-standing close relationship between the University of Leipzig and the Max Planck Institute a connection that has proven to be extremely fruitful and promising.

The new research group will focus on applied mathematics, especially partial differential equations and the calculus of variations. Since their development by Newton and Leibniz, differential equations have been one of the most essential tools of modern mathematics. Partial differential equations describe the relationship between temporal and spatial changes of functions mathematically in a concise way. Thus, almost all fundamental physical laws can be formulated in the language of mathematics. Székelyhidi's research bridges different mathematical subdisciplines by applying methods initially developed for differential geometry to fluid dynamics and nonlinear elasticity. It makes an important contribution to the rational mechanics of vibrations and evolving microstructures.

One research focus is fluid dynamics, particularly turbulent solutions, which can be described by the Navier-Stokes equations. This simple set of equations, describing only the basic Newtonian laws of conservation of mass and momentum, is capable of capturing the very complex dynamics that occur at many different scales in turbulent flows. These equations are part of the class of super-critical equations. If one zooms in on their solution, there is the possibility that energy conservation is no longer observed in theory. Inflation of the solutions, or also the accumulation of energy in ever-smaller regions, until it finally swells into infinity, can therefore take place. In the case of the Navier-Stokes equations, it remains to be proven that uniform solutions without blow-up always exist. This is one of the six still unsolved millennium problems whose solution is endowed with prize money of one million US dollars by the Clay Mathematics Institute. In the video interview linked below, Professor Székelyhidi explains what he finds fascinating about this problem.

László Székelyhidi was born in 1977 in Debrecen, Hungary. His parents are both mathematicians. When choosing a career, he initially hesitated between his two great passions, music and mathematics. He decided on the latter and studied mathematics at Oxford University. He wrote his dissertation at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences in Leipzig and received his doctorate from the University of Leipzig in 2004, followed by research stays in Princeton, again at the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig, and at the ETH Zurich. In 2007, he accepted a call to the University of Bonn but returned to Leipzig in 2011. Since then, he has been teaching and conducting research as the Professor of Applied Mathematics at the Mathematical Institute of the University of Leipzig.

László Székelyhidi has received numerous honors and awards, including a Starting Grant and a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council. He was awarded the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize and appointed a member of the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.

As a director, László Székelyhidi is now returning to where he spent his doctorate and postdoc time. He is still passionate about playing the violin in his spare time and hopes to meet many music-loving people at the institute. „There are many excellent musicians among mathematicians and physicists. It switches off the analytical mind and enhances what Einstein might call the poetry part of our mind.“

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Wissenschaftlicher Ansprechpartner:
Professor Dr. László Székelyhidi
Mail: Laszlo.Szekelyhidi@mis.mpg.de

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Weitere Informationen:
https://youtu.be/5L_K1vkhQ94 Video Interview with Prof. Dr. László Székelyhidi
http://www.mis.mpg.de/applied-analysis Information about the working group „Applied Analysis“ at the Max Planck Institute