Newsroom
Stay informed with our latest news and announcements on this page. For more in-depth content, we also encourage visitors to explore our bimonthly STRUCTURES Newsletter magazine, which features a variety of articles, interviews with members, and background information on our latest research and activities.
We are happy to announce this year's iteration of the Schöntal Discussion Workshop on The (classical) Geometry of Physics, which will take place from September 03-06, 2024. The Schöntal workshop has been called into life a few years ago and is designed to stimulate discussions between members of the YRC about a specific topic. It is targeted towards young researchers from physics and mathematics. Registration is open until July 26, 2024.
Further information:
We are delighted to announce the talk by Robert Ott (Universität Innsbruck / IQOQI) on “Probing Long-Range Topological Entanglement in Quantum Simulators” on Monday, July 15, 2024, at 1 pm in the seminar room at Philosophenweg 16:
Abstract:
Quantum simulators offer new ways of addressing the long-range entanglement structure of topologically ordered phases of matter. However, measuring entanglement on large subsystems is costly, such that the detection of topological entanglement across long distances becomes unfeasible. Here, we propose a protocol to overcome this challenge by adiabatically deforming the state into geometries where universal long-range entanglement can be efficiently extracted from smaller subregions. Our protocol is general and readily applicable to various quantum simulation architectures. We illustrate our scheme for various string-net models representing both abelian and non-abelian topologically ordered phases, and illustrate an application with neutral atom tweezer arrays.
We are delighted to announce the public lecture by Prof. Dr. Pascal Schweitzer from TU Darmstadt on “Symmetrie in der Mathematik: witzig, wichtig, wunderlich”. The talk, organized by the Research Station Geometry + Dynamics in collaboration with the STRUCTURES Cluster of Excellence, will take place next Tuesday, July 2, at 5pm in the Hörsaal of the Mathematikon.
Abstract (the talk will be in German, but at low level and well accessible):
In den Naturwissenschaften treffen wir Symmetrien immer wieder und in facettenreicher Weise an. Ob bei den Strukturen von Molekülen, in der Form von Seifenblasen oder als fraktale Mandelbrotmenge, bieten uns Symmetrien manchmal eine Chance für besseres Verständnis und bereiten uns an anderer Stelle zusätzliche Schwierigkeiten.
Im Vortrag lade ich zu einem Einblick in die mathematische Welt der Symmetrie ein. Die Reise beginnt mit Beispielen von Symmetrien aus dem Leben, wie eine Fliesen-Kachelung, geht über die Symmetrien des Zauberwürfels, bis hin zur Beschleunigung von Algorithmen. Als Gegenpol erleben wir auch die Abwesenheit von Symmetrie, also Asymmetrie, und deren Konsequenz.
Die Mathematik formalisiert das Konzept der Symmetrie mit einem grundlegenden mathematischen Konzept, einer sogenannten "Gruppe". Die mathematische Theorie der Gruppen ist ein tiefes, etabliertes Teilgebiet der Mathematik. Der Vortrag liefert ebenfalls flüchtige Anekdoten aus der algorithmischen Gruppentheorie, also der computergestützten Behandlung von Symmetrien.
The lecture is aimed at the mathematically interested public, especially high school students and above. Everyone interested in learning more about exciting detours and discoveries in mathematics is warmly invited to attend.
Participation is free of charge, and no registration is required. The talk will also be streamed live on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUPqHBrgG10.
Further Information & Links:


The 2023/24 Young African Mathematicians (YAM) fellows and representatives from Berlin, Bonn, Heidelberg, and Münster gathered at Mathematics Münster on Monday, 17 June 2024, to exchange experiences and build enduring connections within the YAM network.
During the meeting, YAM fellows presented insights and learnings from their research experiences in Germany. A panel discussion featuring Prof. Dr. Franca Hoffmann, initiator of the YAM programme, Prof. Dr. Raimar Wulkenhaar, Dr. Fridolin Melong, AIMS-DFG fellow at Mathematics Münster, Prof. Dr. Anna Gusakova and Dr. Kristina Wensing provided valuable tips, advice and insights on (academic) careers in and outside Germany. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Imke Franzmeier. The day concluded with a feedback session and a joint dinner at “Das Blaue Haus,” a popular student pub in Münster.
The YAM Fellowship Programme supports talented and motivated young African mathematicians at a master’s level. Through immersing themselves in the activities at one of the four German excellence clusters, students can profit from the high-quality international research environment of the host institution and ultimately increase their own network. The programme includes a nine-month research visit with a structured course programme, stipend covering travel, living, and accommodation costs, as well as comprehensive personal and practical support from advisors, YAM coordinators, peers, and staff.
The STRUCTURES Cluster of Excellence is proud to have hosted YAM fellows Richarlotte Razafindravola and Olivette Tchouangnou Chuagua during the 2023/24 period. Their research was supervised by Felix Joos, Roland Herzog, Hans Knüpfer, and Robert Scheichl, with additional support from YRC students Louise Kluge and Maximilian Siebel, who provided invaluable mentorship in a supportive learning environment. The organisation of the stay is in the hands of the coordinators Hans Knüpfer and May-Britt Becker as well as the members of the STRUCTURES office.
Further information:
We are delighted to announce the colloquium Tea, Coffee, Cake, and TDA on Thursday, June 27, at 2 PM. Kelly Spry Maggs (EPFL) will be talking about Cohomology classes in the RNA transcriptome. The event will take place at Konferenzraum 05/104, Mathematikon, INF 205. After the talk, there will be discussions accompanied by tea, coffee and cake.
This event is part of STRUCTURES' Exploratory Project Math & Data. This EP provides a platform across the fields of the natural sciences and mathematics to discuss applications and foundations of topological data analysis (TDA) and beyond. TDA provides versatile tools to uncover potentially hidden topological structures in data. The goal of the TDA Colloquium is to bring together people from various backgrounds, with an emphasis on synergies with Machine Learning. Topics range from applications on real world problems to the abstract mathematical foundations of the subject.
Further Information & Links:
We are happy to announce the next Scientific Machine Learning event from the series “Machine Learning Galore!”, taking place on June 27, 4:30 to 6:00 pm at INF 205 Mathematikon (5th floor). The event will include various lab presentations and science talks. In order to participate, please register for free at https://www.mlai.uni-heidelberg.de/en/machine-learning-talks-on-campus.
Scientific Machine Learning is a joint initiative from IWR and STRUCTURES to foster interactions within and development of the local machine learning community. Its portal, http://mlai.uni-heidelberg.de summarizes the many relevant events and news from across campus that would otherwise remain scattered across single institutions or fields. The goal of the initiative aligns with the STRUCTURES Cluster of Excellence's objective of driving research into the fundamental understanding of current and future machine learning, and with IWR’s aim to leverage machine learning to enable the solution of long-standing problems in the natural and life sciences, the engineering sciences, as well as the humanities.
Further information:
We are happy to announce a special group talk on “Effects of green technology support policies on carbon dioxide emission” on June 12, 4.15 pm. The talk will discuss the findings of a paper providing ex-post empirical evidence on the effects of green technology support policies, in comparison with other climate policies, on carbon dioxide emissions at the aggregate national level. The paper is available at the following link:
https://www.cesifo.org/node/80983
The seminar will be in gHS (Phil. 12) at 4.15 pm. The online version will be available using the link (https://ethz.zoom.us/j/64887632139).