A distinguished professor of applied mathematics and computational science, Dr. Markowich is the author of over 200 publications in leading international journals and circa 14,000 citations.

Biography

Professor Markowich earned an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Habilitation for Applied and Numerical Mathematics at the Vienna University of Technology (TU-Wien), Austria. He became a Full Professor at the Technical University of Berlin (TUB) in 1989. From 1999 until 2007, he worked at the University of Vienna, Austria, as a Professor of Applied Analysis; from 2007-2011, he worked at the University of Cambridge, U.K., as a Professor of Applied Mathematics. Since 2011, he has been a Distinguished Professor at KAUST.

The Austrian-Italian researcher is a prolific researcher and author, with nearly 14,000 citations and more than 200 scientific papers in top international journals. He has authored a series of books presenting topics of science and engineering found in nature or everyday life. In the books, physical variables such as mass, velocity and energy are analyzed using partial differential equations, along with their spatial and temporal variations.

Professor Markowich has been honored with numerous awards and recognitions throughout his career; these include the Wittgenstein Prize from the Austrian Science Fund, The Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award and the Humboldt Research Award.

In 2015, and again in 2018, he held a J.T. Oden Faculty Fellowship at the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences (University of Texas), the Von Neumann Visiting Professorship at the Technical University Munich, Germany, in 2013; the Excellence Chair at Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China, in 2012; and the Excellence Chair of the Foundation Sciences Mathématiques de Paris, France, in 2011.

Markowich is a Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Physics, the American Mathematical Society and the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications. He is also a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, Academia Europaea and a Foreign Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Research Interests

Dr. Markowich’s research uses differential equations in physics, artificial intelligence, biology, and engineering. Specifically, he is interested in deepening the understanding of the mathematical and numerical analysis of partial differential equations (PDEs) and their applications.

In particular, he is interested in:

  • classical and quantum mechanical kinetic theory
  • analytical and numerical problems occurring in highly oscillatory PDEs (like semiclassical asymptotics)
  • Wigner transforms
  • nonlinear PDEs describing dispersive and, resp., diffusive phenomena
  • singular perturbations and longtime asymptotics
  • generalized Sobolev inequalities
  • inverse problems in solid-state physics
  • image processing using PDEs.

Awards and Distinctions

  • J.T.Oden Faculty Fellowship at ICES (University of Texas), Dec 31 2018
  • Ciprian Foias Lectures of Mathematics at Texas A&M, Dec 31 2018
  • Distinguished Lecture, Institute for Advanced Studies, Hongkong City University, Dec 31 2017
  • Invitation Fellowship at Kyoto University, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Dec 31 2016
  • Distinguished Lecture in the "Adventures in Theory" Lecture Series, Center of Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences of Duke University, Dec 31 2016
  • Keynote Lecture, AIP Conference Helsinki (Applied Inverse Problems) • 2015: Frontier Lecture, CSRC Beijing, Dec 31 2015
  • Frontier Lecture, CSRC Beijing, Dec 31 2015
  • Keynote Lecture, AIP Conference Helsinki (Applied Inverse Problems), Dec 31 2015
  • William Benter Distinguished Lecturer, Hongkong City University, Dec 31 2015
  • Offered Andris A. Zoltners Distinguished Professorship (declined), Purdue University, Dec 31 2015
  • J.T.Oden Faculty Fellowship, Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences
    at University of Texas, Dec 31 2015
  • Distinguished Lecture Series, UCLA, Dec 31 2014
  • Von Neumann Visiting Professorship at the Technical University Munich, Dec 31 2013
  • Excellence Chair at Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China, Dec 31 2012
  • Excellence Chair of the Foundation Sciences Mathématiques de Paris, Dec 31 2011
  • Matheon Lectures, WIAS Berlin, Dec 31 2011
  • Wolfgang Wasow Memorial Lecture, University of Wisconsin Madison, Dec 31 2010
  • Invited Lecture (45 min) at the ICM 2010 (International Congress of Mathematicians 2010, Hyderabad, India), Dec 31 2010
  • Humboldt Research Award, Dec 31 2009
  • Ramanujan Memorial Lecture, Saha Institute Kolkata, Dec 31 2009
  • Professorial Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge, Dec 31 2009
  • Inaugural KAUST Investigator Award, Dec 31 2008
  • Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award, Dec 31 2007
  • Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Invitation Fellowship at Kyoto University, Dec 31 2005
  • Corresponding Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Dec 31 2005
  • Seminario Matematico e Fisico di Milano, Dec 31 2004
  • Plenary Lecture at the ICIAM 2003 (5th International Congress on Industrial and Applied Mathematics, Sydney, Australia), Dec 31 2003
  • Wittgenstein Award of the Austrian Science Fund, Dec 31 2000

Education

Habilitation
Applied and Numerical Mathematics, Vienna University of Technology, Austria, 1984
Doctor of Technology (Dr.Techn.)
Applied and Numerical Mathematics, Vienna University of Technology, Austria, 1980
Master of Science (M.S.)
Engineering, Vienna University of Technology, Austria, 1979

Quote

Life is a random process with a drift.

Selected Publications