Anna Katharina Wienhard (born 1977)European Research Council Funds Heidelberg Mathematician
Press Release, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, February 5, 2014, retrieved 2015-01-18. is a German

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

whose research concerns differential geometry, and especially the use of higher

Teichmüller space In mathematics, the Teichmüller space T(S) of a (real) topological (or differential) surface S, is a space that parametrizes complex structures on S up to the action of homeomorphisms that are isotopic to the identity homeomorphism. Teichmüll ...

s to study the deformation theory of

symmetric Symmetry (from grc, συμμετρία "agreement in dimensions, due proportion, arrangement") in everyday language refers to a sense of harmonious and beautiful proportion and balance. In mathematics, "symmetry" has a more precise definiti ...

geometric structures. She is a director at the

Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences The Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences (MPI MiS) in Leipzig is a research institute of the Max Planck Society. Founded on March 1, 1996, the institute works on projects which apply mathematics in various areas of natural science ...

.Anna Wienhard
Scientific Members, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, retrieved 2023-09-09

Education and career

Wienhard did her undergraduate studies at the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...

, earning a double degree in

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and mathematics. Continuing at Bonn, she earned a doctorate in 2004 under the joint supervision of

Hans Werner Ballmann Hans Werner Ballmann (known as Werner Ballmann; born 11 April 1951) is a German mathematician. His area of research is differential geometry with focus on geodesic flows, spaces of negative curvature as well as spectral theory of Dirac operators ...

and Marc Burger. After holding temporary positions at the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universit ...

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent schola ...

, and

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

, she took a faculty position at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

in 2007. She moved to Heidelberg as a full professor in 2012Curriculum vitae
retrieved 2015-01-18. and to Leipzig as a research director at the

in 2022.

Recognition

From 2009 to 2013, Wienhard was a member of the Young Academy of the

German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (german: Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften), short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founde ...

and

Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (german: Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften), abbreviated BBAW, is the official academic society for the natural sciences and humanities for the German states of Berlin a ...

. In 2012, she became one of the inaugural

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

s of the

American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...

. She was elected as a regular member of the Leopoldina in 2023. She was the

Emmy Noether Amalie Emmy NoetherEmmy is the '' Rufname'', the second of two official given names, intended for daily use. Cf. for example the résumé submitted by Noether to Erlangen University in 1907 (Erlangen University archive, ''Promotionsakt Emmy Noeth ...

Lecturer of the

German Mathematical Society The German Mathematical Society (german: Deutsche Mathematiker-Vereinigung, DMV) is the main professional society of German mathematicians and represents German mathematics within the European Mathematical Society (EMS) and the International Math ...

in 2012, and an invited speaker at the 2018 International Congress of Mathematicians. She was named MSRI Clay Senior Scholar for Fall 2019.

References

External links

Wienhard's home page at Heidelberg University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wienhard, Anna 1977 births Living people 21st-century German mathematicians German women mathematicians University of Bonn alumni Princeton University faculty Academic staff of Heidelberg University Max Planck Institute directors Fellows of the American Mathematical Society Geometers 21st-century women mathematicians 21st-century German women