Stochastics, University of Augsburg

For transport phenomena in a wide range of scientific fields and everyday applications – including road traffic and the spread of disease – mathematics offers a unified language for modelling based on processes of exclusion. The individual moving “particles” (e.g. cars in road traffic) move randomly, while certain configurations must be excluded (for example, two cars cannot occupy the same position). In recent years, research has focused on the question of how long it takes for a system of moving particles to reach equilibrium. In mathematics this is referred to as mixing times, and when equilibrium is reached abruptly, it is known as a “cutoff”. Verifying the latter is a very challenging research problem. Dominik Schmid has significantly advanced the field through the development of conceptually new methods. His approaches have the potential to become standard tools that are largely independent of specific system properties and therefore widely applicable. He also develops new techniques and methods in other areas of modern probability theory by combining ideas from different branches of mathematics.

Further Information

• Research Funding > Programmes > Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize(interner Link)
• Overview of all prizewinners(interner Link)