Barbara Wohlmuth appointed member of Leopoldina

The Leopoldina, the National Academy of Sciences, has elected Professor Barbara Wohlmuth as a member. The appointment is considered one of the highest scientific honors of a German institution. Barbara Wohlmuth belongs to the Mathematics Section and is the first member doing research in the field of computational applied mathematics.

Barbara Wohlmuth is Professor for Numerical Mathematics at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) since 2010. She conducts research in the field of numerical simulation of partial differential equations. Her main focus is on numerical analysis, numerical algorithms and discretizations. In the area of predictive modeling, she works on various interdisciplinary applications - such as additive manufacturing processes, earthquake simulations, or computational medicine.

Barbara Wohlmuth is involved in scientific committees of prestigious institutions in Europe and the USA and is a member of the Bavarian as well as the European Academy of Sciences. Since 2016, she heads the International Graduate School of Science and Engineering (IGSSE) at TUM. In 2012, the German Research Foundation (DFG) awarded her the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize.

What is the Leopoldina?

The Leopoldina represents the German scientific community internationally, as well as identifying and analyzing scientific issues of social importance and providing policymakers and the public with science-based advice. The Academy operates irrespective of political and economic objectives and is committed to serving the public interest. 

The Leopoldina comprises around 1,600 excellent researchers of all scientific disciplines from around the world. Two thirds are from German-speaking countries, the other third from 27 further states. The number of members under the age of 75 years is limited to 1,000. New members are proposed by existing members of the Academy,  then elected by the Presidium in a multi-tiered process. The Academy consists of 28 scientific sections, which are grouped in four classes:

• Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Engineering
• Life Sciences
• Medicine
• Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences

In addition to Wohlmuth, TUM Emeritus of Excellence Prof. Karl-Heinz Hoffmann from the Department of Mathematics is a member of the Academy.

History of the Leopoldina

The German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina was founded in 1652. This makes it the oldest scientific and medical learned society in the German-speaking world and the oldest permanently existing academy of natural sciences in the world. Its members included outstanding scientific personalities such as Albert Einstein, Max Planck and Marie Curie.

In 2008 the Leopoldina was appointed as the first German National Academy of Sciences by the federal and state governments and since then stands under the patronage of the Federal President of Germany. The Leopoldina is financed to 80 percent from the German State and to 20 percent from the State of Sachsen-Anhalt, where it established its main seat at the University of Halle in 1878.