SDU professor achieve largest and most prestigious grant in both Europe and USA
Ivy League universities and SDU professor collaborate to explore new structures in math and physics with support from the Simons Foundation.
The most prestigious research project for a mathematician in the USA is a Simons Collaboration (a program of the Simons Foundation) which is achieved by Jørgen Ellegaard Andersen, Professor in mathematics, Chair at DIAS and Head of the Center for Quantum Mathematics here at SDU.
The Simons Foundation provides funding and resources for innovative research projects that have the potential to transform our understanding of the world around us. One of the projects supported by the foundation is the project "New Structures in Geometry and Physics", where Jørgen Ellegaard Andersen is part of the steering committee. The project has received a grant of approx. DKK 56 mio. (USD 8 mio.).
”The fact that SDU has a mathematician of such caliber who can achieve both the largest and most prestigious grant in Europe and in the United States, at the same time, is truly world-class and a clear expression of research excellence.
Rector Jens Ringsmose refers to the fact that Jørgen Ellegaard Andersen also has been awarded a Synergy Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) with three other excellent European researchers of approx. DKK 75 mio. (EUR 10 mio.).
The Simons Collaboration project aims to deepen our understanding of the connections between geometry and physics and brings together scientists worldwide to collaborate on cutting-edge research in several areas, including algebraic geometry, topology, quantum field theory, and string theory. The aim of the project is to develop new mathematical and physical concepts that can help us understand the fundamental nature of the universe better.
In the days just before Easter break, the entire project team met. In addition to Ellegaard, the team consists of researchers from Stanford University, Princeton University, Harvard University and MIT. At the meeting, they laid the foundations for the work to be carried out over the next three years.
”The project provides a unique opportunity to strengthen joint research and long-term interactions. We, therefore, expect that it will create a framework for a collaboration that will lead to major discoveries and innovations in research tools in mathematics and physics.
Meet the researcher
Professor Jørgen Ellegaard Andersen is the Founder and Head of the Center for Quantum Mathematics and Professor at the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science (IMADA) at the Faculty of Science, SDU.