Speaker: Martin Grötschel (Technische Universität Berlin), Professor of Information Technologies at the Institute of Mathematics
Introduced by: Ingrid Daubechies, Professor of Mathematics at Duke University, President of the International Mathematical Union, and 2013 BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Award laureate
Date and Time: Tuesday, 17 December 2013, 19:30
Venue: Residencia de Estudiantes, Madrid
Abstract: Modern communication technologies such as the Internet and mobile telephony appear to be major achievements of physics and engineering – and indeed they are! However, these technologies would not function properly without the significant contributions of mathematics. Most of the mathematical methods employed are not purely theoretical but have also been developed in recent years alongside the deployment of communication technologies.
In this lecture, Prof. Grötschel will present a comprehensive study of the applications of mathematics in communications. These range from the design and production of mobile phones, through signal encoding, data encryption, the design of efficient and cost-effective fibre networks, to the allocation of channels for high-quality mobile phone antennas.
Martin Grötschel is Professor of Information Technologies at the Institute of Mathematics, Technical University of Berlin. His main research interests are discrete mathematics, optimisation, and operations research. Over the past 15 years, he has worked both theoretically and practically on constructing efficient algorithms for complex optimisation problems, such as improving a country’s railway network, regulating energy supply systems, or evaluating telecommunications networks. He has a strong interest in applications and regularly collaborates with engineers and economists in areas such as telecommunications, logistics, manufacturing, and the design of public transport systems. He served as President of the German Mathematical Society (1993–1994) and has been Secretary of the International Mathematical Union since 2007. In addition, he has extensive experience as a mathematics communicator.