Universität Bonn

Hausdorff Center for Mathematics

The Hausdorff Center for Mathematics (HCM), established in 2006 as the first German Cluster of Excellence in Mathematics, is a major center for mathematical research and international scientific exchange. Its spectrum ranges from pure and applied mathematics to interdisciplinary research, including theoretical economics. HCM features the Hausdorff Research Institute (HIM) with its trimester programs and the Hausdorff school for Mathematics (HSM) which is the central institution serving all early-career researchers in mathematics at Bonn: from doctoral students to advanced postdocs.

Hausdorff School for Mathematics (HSM)

News and Highlights

Jens Vygen and Vera Traub receive prestigious Lanchester Prize
Jens Vygen, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Bonn, and his former PhD student Vera Traub, now a professor at ETH Zurich, have been awarded the 2026 Frederick W. Lanchester Prize. The international award recognizes their joint book, “Approximation Algorithms for Traveling Salesman Problems,” published by Cambridge University Press in 2025. The prize is awarded for outstanding English-language scholarly contributions in operations research and management sciences published within the past five years.
Who was Bernhard Riemann? – World premiere in Bonn
To celebrate the 200th birthday of the famous mathematician Bernhard Riemann, the Hausdorff Center for Mathematics at the University of Bonn, in collaboration with Sand-Production Vienna, is staging a play about his life and work. The premiere will take place on Thursday, November 12, 2026, starting at 6 pm at the LVR-Landesmuseum Bonn. Admission is free; prior registration is required.
Bonn maths students enjoy great success at the IMC once again
At this year’s International Mathematics Competition for University Students (IMC) in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria — held from July 27 to August 3, 2026 — the University of Bonn took third place (*) in the unofficial team ranking.  In the end, the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology proved to be too strong and took first place by a wide margin. In the individual ranking, Lennart Christian Grabbel achieved an outstanding fourth place. All seven participants from Bonn took home medals.  
Rediscover Math Through Dance
We invite high school students in 10th grade and above to gain exciting insights into mathematics and studying math. The event will take place at the Lecture Hall Center at Friedrich-Hirzebruch-Allee 5 in Bonn. The event begins after summer break on Thursday, September 10, with a five-part workshop and concludes with a campus scavenger hunt on Saturday, September 12. Registration is open until August 20.

Hausdorff Chairs

The Hausdorff Chairs make it possible to complement the faculty without the usual constraints in terms of timing and fields. We seek internationally outstanding scientists who fit into the broad spectrum of the Hausdorff Center.

Müller.jpg
© VL

Stefan      
Müller

Rady.jpg
© VL

Sven
Rady

Rüland.jpg
© VL

Angkana
Rüland

Sauermann.JPG
© BF

Lisa
Sauermann

Thiele.jpg
© VL

Christoph
Thiele

Felix Hausdorff

The center is named after the famous mathematician Felix Hausdorff. Felix Hausdorff was born on 8 November 1868 in Breslau as the son of a Jewish merchant. He was appointed associate professor in Bonn in 1910 and assumed a full professorship in 1913 in Greifswald. He returned to Bonn in 1921 to continue his work until 1935. During the national socialist regime, he suffered increasing harassment and humiliation until 26 Januar 1942, when he and his wife chose suicide over imminent deportation to a concentration camp. With his masterpiece Grundzüge der Mengenlehre (1914), Hausdorff established topology as an independent discipline in mathematics. In addition, Hausdorff made significant contributions to general and descriptive set theory, measure theory, algebra, functional anaylsis, probability theory, and insurance mathematics.

Hausdorff_2.png
© HCM

Bonn Junior Fellows

The BJF program offers attractive positions in an outstanding scientific environment to excellent researchers at an early stage of their careers. It provides a springboard to  prestigious permanent positions worlwide.

Johannes
Alt

Christian
Brennecke

Laurent 
Côté

Merlin
Christ

Giles
Gardam

Y. H. Joshua
Lam

Tudor
Pădurariu

Barbara
Verfürth

Marvin
Weidner

Wird geladen