Excellence confirmed: "Mathematics Münster" receives continued funding

Great joy at Mathematics Münster: Today, Thursday (22 May), the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the German Science and Humanities Council (WR) announced that the Cluster of Excellence "Mathematics Münster: Dynamics - Geometry - Structure" will be receiving funding for another seven years from January 2026. This makes the Cluster one of 70 research centres at German universities that will be funded in the first funding line of the Excellence Strategy. They prevailed in the competition with a total of 98 applications.

Since 2019, Mathematics Münster has been advancing cutting-edge research in Münster. Researchers work closely together to solve fundamental problems across various mathematical disciplines. This unique, integrated approach combines diverse techniques, perspectives and fields at the highest scientific level.

This unique approach has led to internationally acclaimed breakthroughs in recent years and established Münster as the most dynamic mathematics location in Germany. The results achieved here also provide fundamental insights for many other sciences and technologies - particularly in artificial intelligence and medicine.

Münster is positioning itself in the second funding period with an innovative research programme that is dedicated to current challenges in the areas of "Invariants and Fundamentals", "Nonlinear Spaces and Operators" and "Models, Approximations and Data" in ten interrelated research topics. The spokespersons of the cluster are Prof. Dr. Thomas Nikolaus and Prof. Dr. Mario Ohlberger. The requested funding amount is 40 million euros.

"Our renewed successful application is a great endorsement for the entire team of around 200 people," says Mario Ohlberger. "The funding will continue to make our Master's, doctoral and postdoctoral programmes highly attractive to outstanding mathematical talents from all over the world. New professorships are also planned to complement our integrated approach at the top level," adds Thomas Nikolaus.

Mathematics Münster is part of an excellent research environment and cooperates closely with several Collaborative Research Centres, Research Training Groups and interdisciplinary research centres. Renowned mathematicians contribute significantly to its success - documented by an Alexander von Humboldt Professorship, six ERC grants and five Leibniz Prizes, including the Leibniz Prize 2024 for Prof. Dr. Eva Viehmann.

A future milestone will be the opening of the Centre of Mathematics Münster (CMM) in 2027 - a modern research centre that is unique in Germany and is currently being built on the maths campus at Coesfelder Kreuz. It will further consolidate Münster's role as a driving force in international mathematical research.

Links:
University of Münster's press release
DFG's press release [de]

Research programme of Mathematics Münster

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Video statements (in German) by Thomas Nikolaus (spokesperson), Anne Schindler (scientific coordinator), Mario Ohlberger (spokesperson) and Eva Viehmann (PI)