Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences

08/10/2026

Our PhD student Matteo Palmieri was awarded with the Benedetto Sciarra Prize. He received the award for his work on the formation of large-scale structures in two-dimensional fluids. 👏💐

The award was presented on September 21 by the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa (SNS). They recognized Matteo’s master’s thesis; he is currently a PhD student at our institute in Prof. Felix Otto’s research group. In addition to Matteo Palmieri, Federico Vitillaro—also a PhD student working at the SNS under the supervision Prof. Luigi Ambrosio—was rewarded.

Matteo describes his research as follows: „The goal was to study the formation of large-scale structures in two-dimensional fluids. The most prominent example is the famous Great Red Spot on the surface of Jupiter's atmosphere, but the same mechanism is believed to also create the zonal flows, which are horizontal bands present in some planets of our solar system, in Earth's oceans and in plasmas. These are fascinating physical phenomena, which still lack a satisfactory mathematical explanation.“

We congratulate Matteo Palmieri and Federico Vitillaro on this special honor! ✨

🌐 Read more about the Benedetto Sciarra Prize and what Matteo thought about the award in our Institute News.

07/10/2026

Das Max-Planck-Institut für Mathematik in den Naturwissenschaften (MPI MiS) sucht zum nächstmöglichen Zeitpunkt und befristet für 1 Jahr eine/n Sachbearbeiter/in Finanzbuchhaltung.

🗓️ Bewerbungsfrist: 27. Oktober 2026

📌 Alle weiteren Informationen zur Stelle und zur Bewerbung finden Sie auf unserer Webseite.

✨ Wir freuen uns auf Ihre Bewerbung!

30/09/2026

Math Planck People - They make Math happen! 📸

Hi, I am David and currently a PhD student under the supervision of László Székelyhidi.

Prior to moving to Leipzig, I completed my master’s degree at ETH Zürich under the supervision of Alessio Figalli and André Guerra. Mathematically speaking, I am interested in PDEs and variational problems, particularly those with geometric aspects. More specifically, I am working on harmonic maps, magnetic vector fields, and shape variational problems involving capacity and other geometric quantities. What fascinates me most about these problems is that abstract mathematical tools can be used to describe and sometimes even predict phenomena that can be observed in real-world experiments, such as the shape of a soap bubble, the formation of defects in liquid crystals, or the magnetization of a steel cylinder.

When I am not doing mathematics, I spend most of my free time on the tennis court, as I am a very passionate tennis player. Apart from playing tennis, I like to listen to classical music. Since I am a big fan of Bach, Leipzig is, of course, a very exciting place to live and work.

24/09/2026

Congratulations to Joris Koefler on the successful defense of his PhD on “Positive Geometries in Physics”, and on his postdoctoral position at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. 🎉

In his dissertation Joris investigated geometric structures that connect algebraic geometry with theoretical particle physics. His research combines methods from real and complex algebraic geometry to study positive geometries, in particular the amplituhedron, and their associated canonical differential forms. These structures provide a geometric framework for understanding scattering amplitudes, which encode information about particle interactions.

We warmly congratulate Joris on this achievement and wish him all the best for his next chapter in Princeton! 🍀

Read more in our Institute News: 👇

Congratulations to Joris Koefler on the successful defense of his PhD on “Positive Geometries in Physics”, and on his postdoctoral position at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.

23/09/2026

✨ Now hiring: Research Group Leader (W2) ✨

As one of the institutes of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften (MPG) – an independent, non-profit research organization, whose goal is to promote top quality research at its institutes – we participates in a joint call (www.mprg.mpg.de) across all disciplines for applications to the position of a Max Planck Research Group Leader (W2).

📌 Application deadline: October 14, 2026

For detailed information & application, please visit
https://www.mis.mpg.de/career/max-planck-research-group-leader

The Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences (MPI MiS) invites applications of outstanding mathematicians for a position as Max Planck Research Group Leader (W2).

18/09/2026

Two of our former postdocs are now pursuing their scientific careers at renowned French universities. 🌟
Marie Trin works as Maîtresse de conférences (associate professor) at the Université de Bourgogne Europe in Dijon, while Anna Roig Sanchis holds the same position at the Université Côte d’Azur in Nice. We are very proud of this achievement and wish them every success in their new roles!

Both Marie and Anna were previously postdoctoral researchers in our Geometry, Groups, and Dynamics group, led by our director Anna Wienhard.
In the this interview, they talk about their research, their time at the institute, and their new positions – two voices connected by a shared passion for mathematics. 👇

Two of our former postdocs are now pursuing their scientific careers at renowned French universities. Marie Trin works as Maîtresse de conférences (associate professor) at the Université de Bourgogne Europe in Dijon, while Anna Roig Sanchis holds the same position at the Université Côte d’Azu...

09/09/2026

Congratulations to Jiajun Shi on the successful completion of his dissertation, which explores geodesic currents as a powerful framework for encoding and comparing geometric information on surfaces. 🎓

We wish him all the best for his upcoming postdoctoral position at Seoul National University in South Korea! 🍀

Read more in our Institute News: 👇

Congratulations to Jiajun Shi on the successful completion of his dissertation, which explores geodesic currents as a powerful framework for encoding and comparing geometric information on surfaces. We wish him all the best for his upcoming postdoctoral position at Seoul National University in South...

19/08/2026

Our postdoctoral researcher Pengfei Huang has been appointed an Zhicheng Young Professor / Associate Professor at the School of Mathematics at Nanjing University, China. We wish you all the very best and every success! ✨🍀

Pengfei Huang was a postdoctoral research associate in the "Geometry, Groups, and Dynamics" research group, led by our director Anna Wienhard. Before that, he defended his PhD thesis in 2020 under the supervision of Prof. Carlos Simpson at Université Côte d'Azur and Prof. Jiayu Li at the University of Science and Technology of China.

Pengfei Huang’s research interests lie in Algebraic Geometry, Differential Geometry, and Mathematical Physics.

👉 Read more about Pengfei in our Institute News:

Our postdoctoral researcher Pengfei Huang has been appointed an Zhicheng Young Professor / Associate Professor at the School of Mathematics at Nanjing University, China. We wish you all the very best and every success!

17/08/2026

Our institute is playing a key role in the Dive into Research (DiR) workshop taking place from 10 August to 18 September 2026 at Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, as part of the Combinatorial Synergies initiative.

A great example of collaboration between MPI-MiS and Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics! 👏

🌐 Read more in our Institute News
https://www.mis.mpg.de/news/dive-into-research-2026

12/08/2026

Math Planck People - They make Math happen! 📸

Ciao! My name is Andrea Rosana and I have been a postdoc in the Nonlinear Algebra group since October 2025. Before moving to Leipzig, I was a PhD student at the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) in Trieste, Italy. Originally, I am from Firenze.

My main research interest is metric algebraic geometry: I look at (real) algebraic varieties through the lenses of differential topology and geometry, trying to understand their metric properties. I like to apply these insights to all sorts of problems, from optimization questions involving distance functions in nonlinear settings to exploring the properties of random real tensors. In reality (pun not intended), I spend a lot of time doing computations on the Grassmannian. Here at MPI, I am learning new techniques coming from an algebraic perspective and building on my computational skills.

When I'm not doing maths (and also occasionally when I'm doing it), I like to be outside and stay active. I play tennis, table tennis, volleyball, ski, and am eager to talk about the latest competition at any given time. I am very easy to bribe: any kind of chocolate or pictures of red pandas will do the job!

✨ Meet our at: https://www.mis.mpg.de/news/math-planck-people