Math Talent School Recap: Becoming a Mathematician – Yes or No?

In this project group, the participants deal with a fictitious scenario in the year 2045: due to several pandemics and extraordinary weather events, all supply chains have collapsed, leaving Germany largely abandoned. A group of survivors is looking for a place to grow food. The greenhouse-like atriums of the Fraunhofer ITWM are perfect for this.

When they arrive at the institute, they notice that others must have already had a similar idea, as lawn sprinklers have already been installed. Unfortunately, three of the six sprinklers are not working properly. To solve this problem, the group first has to work out mathematically where the pipes run underground without digging at random.

The group is supervised by Fabian Weik from the »Transport Processes« department at the Fraunhofer ITWM.

In an emergency, every minute counts – because human lives are at stake! That's why there are laws in emergency rescue that stipulate the response time and the maximum time until arrival at the scene. However, as it is not only the lives of other people that should be protected, but also the lives of the rescuers themselves, there are also rules for the rescue station.

In this project, the participants ask themselves where the new rescue station is to be built at the Otterbach site. The students gain an insight into the rescue service and learn what role mathematics plays in site planning. They will also learn how the QGIS program, which is used to create and analyze maps, can provide support.

The group is supervised by Dr. Florentine Kämmerer and Sabrina Thielen from the »Optimization« working group in the »Mathematics« department at RPTU.

This project is about calculating the location of a bike sharing station. The students learn how to make a well-founded decision, taking into account the budget and possible locations. They look at how linear regression can contribute to problem solving and what role the Python programming language plays in this context. 

The group is supervised by Giuliano Taccogna and Klara Hoffmann from the »Mathematics for Vehicle Engineering« division at Fraunhofer ITWM.

Forests are very important for the entire ecosystem. They provide a habitat for animals and bind CO₂. They are also a decisive economic factor. In addition to wood, which is needed as construction timber, fuel or for paper production, they have a positive effect on tourism. The conservation of forests requires precise management planning.

In this group of students, a section of forest is modeled mathematically. The aim is to formulate a basic approach to management planning.

The group is supervised by Emily Ewers, Dr. Sonja Föhst and Prof. Dr. Claudia Redenbach from the »Statistics« working group in the »Mathematics« department at RPTU.