Von Kaven-Ehrenpreis 2013 for Oliver Rinne
DFG awards mathematician from the Albert Einstein Institute in Potsdam for outstanding work in general relativity.
A press release of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.
The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) has selected mathematician Oliver Rinne to receive the 2013 von Kaven Award for Mathematics for his outstanding work on the general theory of relativity and in the related areas of mathematical physics and geometric analysis.
Oliver Rinne's research focusses on areas related to the general theory of relativity, one of the pioneering discoveries made by Albert Einstein which, following Newton's classical theory, offers a completely new, geometric understanding of gravity. The Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics where Rinne has worked for two years is named after Albert Einstein. The 36-year-old uses a combination of analytical and numeric methods to study Einstein's field equations. Rinne has developed a promising new approach that allows these equations to be handled analytically and numerically stable to infinity, a problem that had long been considered complex and unsolved. His work has also laid the foundations for one of the current methods of handling black holes in numerical relativity theory. He applies his exceptional analytical and numerical abilities to the study of gravitational collapse.
Oliver Rinne's academic career began in 1998 at the University of Heidelberg, where he studied physics and mathematics and in 2004 completed his degree in physics. He also acquired a master's degree in mathematics from the University of Cambridge in 2002, where he subsequently obtained his doctorate. In 2004 he was awarded the Rayleigh-Knight Prize from the University of Cambridge and the Otto Haxel Prize from the University of Heidelberg. In 2005 he went to the California Institute of Technology to undertake postdoctoral studies for two years. This was followed by a research stay lasting several years at King's College, Cambridge. Since 2012, Oliver Rinne has been funded by the DFG as a Heisenberg Fellow.
The von Kaven-Ehrenpreis is usually given as a special honour to early-career mathematicians taking part in the Heisenberg Programme. The selection is made by the DFG’s Mathematics Scientific Council. The 10,000-euro prize money comes from the eponymous foundation, which was established by mathematician Herbert von Kaven in collaboration with the DFG in 2004. A native of Detmold, von Kaven passed away in 2009 at the age of 101. Even in his old age, he remained particularly interested in the foundations of mathematics, a commitment he maintained throughout his life.
The Gauss Lecture, during which the prize will be awarded again this year, is a mathematics lecture aimed at a broader audience with an interest in mathematics. This year's lecture will be delivered by Professor Jürgen Richter-Gebert of the Technical University of Munich and will focus on 'Symmetry, Ornaments, and Computers'. It will take place on 14 November, starting at 15:00, at the Mathematikum in Giessen.
