FAU mathematician receives ERC Advanced Grant
More than two million euros in funding for Humboldt Professor Enrique Zuazua
Another researcher from FAU has been awarded an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council (ERC). The mathematician and Humboldt professor Dr. Enrique Zuazua will receive up to 2.5 million euros for his project “Control for Deep and Federated Learning”.
Among the topics Enrique Zuazua deals with are partial differential equations, control theory and numerics. The objective of these areas of mathematics is to improve modeling and simulation of processes stemming from engineering, especially in areas of particular importance for the future such as aviation, energy supply or social behavior. Prof. Zuazua’s research focuses on the analysis, control and computer simulation of processes such as these using mathematical techniques. Research in this area is also crucial for predicting natural phenomena such as tidal waves, a factor that is becoming increasingly important in view of climate change.
The main inspiration behind his project “Control for Deep and Federated Learning (CoDeFeL)” that has now received the ERC Grant are the challenges that can arise when using applications in digital medicine. Machine learning heralds a new era in applied mathematics, leading to innovative and powerful new methods. This raises fundamental mathematical questions, however. Enrique Zuazua intends tackling this challenge from the perspective of other, more intensely researched areas of applied mathematics, namely from the interface between control theory and machine learning. CoDeFel will make a contribution to the analytical foundations of machine learning methods, thereby expanding and bringing the area of application of control theory up to date.
You can read more on Zuazua and his research in this portrait about the mathematician, in the press release on his being awarded the Humboldt professorship and on the Chair’s website.
About Enrique Zuazua
Originally from the Basque Country, Prof. Dr. Enrique Zuazua was appointed as a Humboldt professor at FAU in 2019, where he has since held the Chair of Dynamics, Control and Numerics. Zuazua was a professor of Applied Mathematics at Universidad Complutense de Madrid from 1990, before he moved to Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in 2001. From 2008 to 2012 he helped establish the Basque Center for Applied Mathematics (BCAM) in the position of Founding Scientific Director. This Center was launched by the Basque government to encourage interdisciplinary research within mathematics with a focus on computer mathematics, applied mathematics and multi-disciplinary aspects of mathematics. In November 2015, FAU President Prof. Dr. Joachim Hornegger officially appointed Zuazua as an FAU ambassador.
Grants from European Research Council
With its Advanced Grants, the European Research Council recognizes excellent achievements of experienced scientists in research. The funding is available to established, active researchers with an excellent academic track record over the last ten years. In the call for applications in 2022, a total of 218 Advanced Grants were awarded throughout Europe, amounting to a total of 544 million euros in funding.
Further information
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