Hausdorff Center for Mathematics
The Hausdorff Center for Mathematics (HCM) is a research institute in Bonn, founded by the four mathematical institutes of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn (Mathematical Institute, Institute for Applied Mathematics, Institute for Numerical Simulation, Research Institute for Discrete Mathematics), the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics (MPI) and the Institute for Social and Economic Sciences. It was established in 2006 as one of the seventeen national Clusters of Excellence that were part of the German government's Excellence Initiative. The centre was officially opened with a colloquium on 19 and 20 January, 2007. In 2012 a second funding period was granted. It is the only cluster of excellence in the area of mathematics in Germany.[1]
The centre is named after the mathematician Felix Hausdorff (born 8 November 1868; died 26 January 1942). The coordinator of the HCM is Prof. Dr. Karl-Theodor Sturm. Altogether, about 50 professors from Bonn are affiliated with the HCM: all professors for Mathematics, of the MPI and for Theoretical Economy. These include the director of the MPI, Gerd Faltings, who was awarded the Fields Medal in 1986, and Reinhard Selten, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for his research on game theory.
The Hausdorff Center runs the Hausdorff Research Institute for Mathematics and the Bonn International Graduate School in Mathematics. The Hausdorff Research Institute for Mathematics (HIM) organizes international long-term programs and fosters cooperation between German mathematicians and internationally renowned scientists in in mathematics and mathematical economics. It also runs specific programs for young scientists. Director of the Hausdorff Research Institute for Mathematics is Wolfgang Lück. The Bonn International Graduate School in Mathematics (BIGS) supports the scientific development of PhD students. Director of the BIGS is Stefan Schwede.