(Gero von Randow, DIE ZEIT, on occasion of the International
Congress of Mathematicians (ICM), August 1998 in Berlin)

Mathematics is a thousands-of-years-old cultural asset, and at the same time a varied and up-to-date subject to teach and research. Mathematics is ever-present, even if it’s often hardly visible in everyday life. It is a key technology of the information age.

A large technological university such as the TU Berlin offers special chances of cooperation between the disciplines of natural science and engineering science, and mathematical theoretical research.

Here at the Institute of Mathematics we develop and examine mathematical models and new solution approaches as an answer to increasingly complex problems of modern technological sciences, engineering sciences and natural sciences.

The strength of mathematical methods is based on general and powerful modeling and corresponding in-depth structural knowledge. Thereby, we can fall back on knowledge and structures which have evolved over centuries, and develop new ideas and perspectives at the same time. New scientific technologies (for example, internet security and transport planning) pose challenging problems,  which fertilize mathematical research, leading to new questions, concepts and mathematical fields of research (such as cryptography, online-optimization and stochastic processes in the neurosciences).

The Institute of Mathematics at TU Berlin is known as a highly active place for mathematical research and teaching.  The different research groups distinguish themselves through their diverse cooperations: within Berlin, nationwide and internationally. Hosting and participating in DFG mathematical research training groups (DFG-Graduiertenkollegs), participation in DFG collaborative research centers (SFB), hosting and participating in DFG research units, acquisition of ERC grants as well as various prizes and awards emphasize the high level and international reputation of the Institute.

The Institute is proud to be the home of the Berlin Mathematics Research Center MATH+ - a Cluster of Excellence funded by the Excellence Strategy. MATH+ is a dynamic research center that focuses on application-driven mathematical research relevant to our society. Its main goals are to train highly skilled young mathematicians across the entire breadth of mathematics, to develop innovative application-oriented mathematics with a focus on data-driven modelling, simulation, and optimization, and to open up new mathematical thinking spaces. MATH+ is supported by Berlin mathematics as a whole in cooperation with other scientific disciplines.

MATH+ will build upon the success of the Berlin Mathematical School (BMS) and the Research Center Matheon. The BMS will be augmented as the MATH+ graduate school and Matheon will live on within the Application Areas of MATH+.

Other partners are the Institutes for Mathematics at FU and HU Berlin as well as WIAS and ZIB.

The Collaborative Research Center/Transregio 109 will bring together scientists from TU Berlin, TU Munich, FU Berlin, TU Graz and TU Vienna from the fields of geometry and dynamics to join forces in tackling the numerous problems raised by the challenge of discretizing their respective disciplines. TU Berlin is the coordinating university.

Studying at the Technische Universität Berlin: Since Autumn 2006 the TU Berlin offers the new Bachelor courses in mathematics as well as in technomathematics and mathematical economics. The Master courses in mathematics, technomathematics and mathematical economics as well as Scientific Computing commenced in Autumn 2007 and substitute the traditional degree courses.

Students at the Technische Universität Berlin are offered every chance for a sound theoretical and practice-oriented education.  A manifold of possibilities exist during their studies where they are able to collaborate in exercises, authentic research problems in projects, e.g. within the scope of MATHEON.  Respectively, job prospects are excellent for graduates of our mathematical courses.

The Institute of Mathematics at the Technische Universität Berlin offers different attractive programs and possibilities for students to study abroad; these programs have high participation rates.

The Berlin Mathematical School offers a course program in English, which leads, in phase I from bachelor to qualifying exams and further in phase II to a PhD. This excellence program comprises of wide areas of so-called "pure" and "applied" mathematics. The Berlin Mathematical School (BMS) incorporates two new DFG research training groups as independent unities, thus providing unique possibilities for mathematics studies from the first semester to the PhD.

Every year we look forward to the many students from all over the world who are interested in using these chances!

We warmly welcome you to our website. On our institute and its research groups web pages you will find extensive information about us, including our communication data for any further questions you may have and for your visit to us.

Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Stannat
(Deputy Executive Director of the Institute of Mathematics)