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Artificial intelligence and computer science are driving developments in many areas of society – including in scientific research. This has prompted the Max Planck Society and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to honour outstanding achievements in the use of algorithms in mathematics, microscopy and climate research in 2024: The Max Planck-Humboldt Research Award, endowed with 1.5 million euros, goes to Geordie Williamson, who was Advanced Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics from 2011-2016, and is now Professor at the University of Sydney. Williamson uses artificial intelligence (AI) for his fundamental work in mathematics.

Proposed by Robert Langlands in the 1960s, the eponymous program is one of the largest projects in modern mathematic and it consists of different branches. Over the years, the MPIM has gained a reputation as one of the hubs for the Langlands program. We are proud that MPIM Director Dennis Gaitsgory led a nine-person team of mathematicians that settles the geometric Langlands conjecture. The proof is the culmination of a research program that spanned three decades. You can read the full story in a recent article in Quantamagazine.

Peter Scholze, director at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics and professor at the University of Bonn, was awarded the Pius XI Gold Medal 2020 by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. The medal is awarded every two years to a young scientist under the age of 45, chosen for his or her exceptional promise. After Luis A. Caffarelli (1988), Laure Saint-Raymond (2004), and Cédric Villani (2014), Peter Scholze is only the fourth mathematician to receive this honor.

Tobias Barthel, advanced researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics, has received a prestigeous ERC starting grant for his project on the "spectral geometry of higher categories". The total budget of the grant is 1.5 million euros for the project duration of 5 years. The eleven Max Planck grantees are among the 397 young researchers who received an ERC Starting Grant in 2021.

The European Research Council (ERC) is the premier European funding organisation for excellent frontier research. It funds creative researchers of any nationality and age, to run projects based across Europe. The ERC offers four core grant schemes: Starting Grants, Consolidator Grants, Advanced Grants and Synergy Grants. The ERC is led by an independent governing body, the Scientific Council. Its prestigeous grants are awarded anually.