Last year, Leipzig University succeeded for the seventh time in securing an Alexander von Humboldt Professorship, endowed with 3.5 million euros. It was supported in this endeavour by the Leipzig-based Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences.
Germany’s most highly endowed research prize was awarded yesterday to internationally renowned mathematician Daniel Kráľ by Federal Minister of Education and Research, Cem Özdemir, and the President of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Robert Schlögl. Professor Eva Inés Obergfell, Rector of Leipzig University, also attended the ceremony. In addition to Kráľ, five other researchers received a Humboldt Professorship.
Kráľ was previously based at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. From 2012 to 2018, he was Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Warwick, United Kingdom. The European Research Council first awarded him two prestigious and well-funded grants: an ERC Starting Grant and then an ERC Consolidator Grant. Král has also won several international mathematics prizes.
“One of the most important steps in my career was a postdoc at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where I worked under the supervision of Professor Robin Thomas, one of the world’s leading researchers in the field of discrete mathematics,” says Daniel Kráľ. “Much of my own research focuses on developing mathematical models and tools to solve problems in computer science, but I also work on purely mathematical questions. One of my main areas of research is graph theory, which deals with fundamental mathematical concepts for modelling and representing networks – both in algorithm design and as a subject of study in its own right, for example in the context of social networks.”
This and more is featured in the interview the new Humboldt Professor gave to the Leipzig University magazine.
