Press Archive 2023

A new study by the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM analyzes how high the effective costs of typical pension products are under realistic cost parameters. It shows that the costs resulting from calculations based on the specifications of the Federal Ministry of Finance significantly exceed the realistic costs.

The Foam Expo trade fair, which takes place in Stuttgart from December 5 to 7, promises new connections and new insights. The researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM in Kaiserslautern are taking the latter literally: the FOAM software enables insights into the microstructure of a wide variety of foams. The tool will be presented in Hall 1 at Booth 250.

From 12 to 17 November 2023 in Denver, Colorado, everything will revolve around the topics of »High Performance Computing«, »Networking«, »Storage« and »Analysis«. The Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM in Kaiserslautern will be presenting the groundbreaking exascale-capable tools, the well-known parallel file system »BeeGFS«, the Fraunhofer STX processor technology and much more at booth 1563!

On November 7 and 8, 2023, everything in the Stuttgart trade fair halls will revolve around industrial maintenance and smart maintenance of production facilities. The Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM in Kaiserslautern will present its software solutions in the Innovation Area in Hall 2A.

The desired heat turnaround focuses not only on district heating, but also on local heating. Thanks to shorter distances from generation to consumers, energy losses in the network are lower. Optimal control of combined heat and power plants can also save energy. In a pilot project with RheinEnergie AG, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM in Kaiserslautern are exploring this potential with the help of artificial intelligence (AI).

This year, Tania Jacob received the award of the Sparkassen Stiftung Kaiserslautern for her master's thesis. She talks to us about the award, her unusual career path, and her work at Fraunhofer ITWM.

KLAIM provides a platform for mathematicians from academia, research labs and industry to exchange ideas and present recent results. The focus of the second KLAIM conference is on the synthesis of models and data, the current research focus of Prof. Dr. Gitta Kutyniok. She holds the Chair of Mathematical Foundations of Artificial Intelligence Understanding at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich and gave the opening lecture at this year's KLAIM.

Quantum computers offer enormous opportunities. With their superior computing power, they have the potential, for example, to solve complex problems in chemical reactions, machine learning or cryptography. To bring them into use more quickly, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is developing quantum computers, enabling technologies and applications together with partners from industry and research in the DLR Quantum Computing-Initiative (DLR QCI). The Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM is now also involved in the DLR QCI as a contractor: The partners are pooling their expertise to advance quantum technology in the »QUANT²AI" project, which is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection.

For a very long time now, our department »Financial Mathematics« has been working on determining solvency capital, i.e. the capital that insurance companies must hold in reserve in order to be solvent at the end of the year. In order to be able to calculate the so-called solvency ratio, the researchers also rely on Artificial Intelligence. Prof. Dr. Ralf Korn explains how research in this area has developed. He has headed the »Financial Mathematics« department for many years and now contributes his expertise as a consultant and member of the Institute's Scientific Advisory Board.

At this year's annual meeting of the Society for Operations Research (GOR) on August 30, 2023, Prof. Dr. Anita Schöbel received the GOR Science Award. The award is the most important prize awarded by the society and recognizes a scientist every two years for exceptional achievements in developing the focus of »Operations Research«. Schöbel is director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM and professor at the Rhineland-Palatinate Technical University Kaiserslautern-Landau RPTU.

According to the Government Statistics Office, more than 358,000 people were injured in traffic accidents in Germany in 2022. Airbags often prevent more serious injuries. While driving, airbags are normally hidden behind a high-grade plastic panel called a slush skin that envelops large parts of the vehicle’s interior. For the skin to tear open along the right lines, it is perforated meticulously after manufacture. However, for the airbag to fully deploy in an emergency, the material and the intended tear lines must be matched as closely as possible. To make sure this is the case, user-friendly, cutting-edge technology is now used to inspect the slush skins: The Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM in Kaiserslautern has developed a hand-held terahertz measurement system for individual, non-destructive quality control of slush skins.

In the project »PflegeForensik«, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM in Kaiserslautern, together with the Public Prosecutor's Office in Dresden and the Economic Crimes Unit of the Leipzig Police Department, are using AI to take targeted action against billing fraud in the care sector. The work was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as part of the »Research for Civil Security« program.

Honor to whom honor is due: With a special workshop, the department »Financial Mathematics« of Fraunhofer ITWM together with the Rhineland-Palatinate Technical University Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU) celebrated the 60th birthday of Prof. Dr. Ralf Korn in June 2023. For this, many mathematicians came to the institute whose professional careers are closely linked to him. The mathematician founded the department »Financial Mathematics«, continues to be involved in research as an advisor to Fraunhofer ITWM, and has supervised 60 doctorates, among many other things.

Together with the Working Group (WG) »Optimization« of the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU), the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM organizes the conference ISOLDE 2023, bringing together the operations research community from different parts of the world. Our institute director Prof. Dr. Anita Schöbel is in leading position of the WG »Optimization« and main organizer of the conference. We asked her in an interview about the characteristics of this interdisciplinary conference.

Today, nonwoven fabrics play a central role in a number of industries, including automotive, healthcare, medical, construction, and filtration. As demand for these versatile materials continues to grow, Bettarini & Serafini S.r.l (trading as bematic®), Siriotek GmbH and the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM are now joining forces to enhance and develop air-lay technology for production of nonwovens. The joint project will be presented for the first time at ITMA 2023, the trade fair for textiles technology, materials and innovation.

The German Society of Actuaries and Financial Mathematicians (DGVFM) and the German Actuarial Association (DAV) have awarded the prestigious GAUSS Prize and three GAUSS Young Investigator Awards for outstanding scientific work in actuarial and financial mathematics on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. The Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM also has reason to be pleased: Dr. Simon Schnürch is being honored for his dissertation. At the same event Prof. Dr. Ralf Korn was reelected as DGVFM chairman.

Hardly any other topic is currently being discussed more: the energy transition. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM in Kaiserslautern have also dedicated themselves to its challenges and have been developing innovative methods and models for the energy sector for years. From May 23 to 25, 2023, the researchers will present various energy projects at the leading trade fair E-world in Essen.

Valentino Bizuga is halfway through his internship at Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM. For four weeks, the high school graduate can experience the professional world of mathematicians and gain first insights into research. We used this occasion and our student assistant Antoinette Duus from the team »Communication« interviewed the 19-year-old.

A monthly support of 600 euros and a study-accompanying program – that is what the Felix Klein Center offers mathematics students at the Rhineland-Palatinate Technical University of Kaiserslautern. Bachelor's and Master's students as well as prospective first-year students can still apply until May 31 for the winter semester 2023/24.

For 13 students from Rhineland-Palatinate, the motto in June 2023 is: We're going to Berlin! They are the best of the Math Camp at the Department of Mathematics at the Rhineland-Palatinate Technical University Kaiserslautern RPTU and will represent Rhineland-Palatinate at the final round of the Mathematical Olympiad. Who belongs to the winning group was announced today at the closing ceremony at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM.