13. October 2008 15:05
ESF names Professor Mats Gyllenberg as the Chair of the Physical and Engineering Sciences
The European Science Foundation (ESF) has named Professor Mats Gyllenberg as the new chair of the Standing Committee for Physical and Engineering Sciences (PEN (formerly PESC)). The announcement came after the Governing Council of the ESF voiced its endorsement for Professor Gyllenberg to replace Professor Michel Mareschal for a 3-year term starting from 1 January 2009.
“I am honoured by the Governing Council's decision,” said Professor Gyllenberg. “Being the chair of PEN (formerly PESC) is a responsible but also challenging task. I am quite eager to start working for ESF.”
Professor Gyllenberg is currently the Professor of Applied Mathematics (Biomathematics) at the University of Helsinki. He has written two books and published more than 180 original research papers in leading journals on Pure and Applied Mathematics and the Sciences (SCIENCE, American Naturalist, Mathematische Annalen, Journal of Mathematical Biology, Journal of Differential Equations, Journal of Molecular Biology, International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Micro-biology etc.) He has also participated in more than 170 international scientific conferences in which he was an invited speaker 130.
“During the past decade we have witnessed an unprecedented technological revolution. Progress in telecommunication, the world wide web and Google are only a few examples of technological advancements that have profoundly changed everyday life. These achievements are all based on fundamental research in disciplines like mathematics, physics and computer science --- fields covered by PEN (formerly PESC). This interaction between the pure and the applied makes the PEN (formerly PESC) environment important and intriguing,” added Professor Gyllenberg.
With the new position Professor Gyllenberg said he will focus on interdisciplinary collaboration.
“The traditional division of the natural sciences into "hard" sciences like mathematics, physics, chemistry and computer science and the "soft" life sciences is old fashioned and in fact obsolete. Modern (molecular) biology could not exist without collaboration with chemistry and physics, explained Professor Gyllenberg. “ The life sciences increasingly use mathematical and statistical modelling and are often dependent on heavy computing. As PEN (formerly PESC) chair I will therefore enhance interdisciplinary collaboration between PEN (formerly PESC) and the other standing committees for instance with LEE (formerly LESC).”
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Career
Present position: Professor of Applied Mathematics (Biomathematics),
University of Helsinki 2004 –
Academic Degrees: Diploma Engineer (Mathematics) 1980, Doctor of
Technology (Mathematics) 1987, both at Helsinki University of Technology.
Membership in learned societies: Finnish Academy of Science and Letters,
Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences in Finland.
Previous career: Various teaching and research positions in Mathematics
and Mechanics at Helsinki University of Technology and the Academy
of Finland 1976–1988, Professor of Applied Mathematics, Lule°a University
of Technology 1989–1993, Professor of Applied Mathematics, University of
Turku 1992–2004.
Visiting Positions: Visiting Researcher, Mathematisch Centrum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 1984–1985, Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 1985–1986, Visiting Professor, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, Santa Barbara, California 1996, Visiting Professor, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands 1997, Visiting Professor, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden 1998, F.C. Donders Visiting Chair of Mathematics, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands 2006, Visiting Professor, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands 2007.
Media contact:
- Mr. Thomas LauE-Mail
