Günter Pilz (born 1945 in

Bad Hall Bad Hall () is a market town in the Steyr-Land district of the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Its name, Bad Hall, means "salt bath," a reference to its long history of baths and spas. It is renowned for its saline springs, strongly impregnated wi ...

Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...

) is professor of mathematics at the Johannes Kepler University (JKU) Linz. Until his retirement in 2013 he was the head of the Institute of

Algebra Algebra is a branch of mathematics that deals with abstract systems, known as algebraic structures, and the manipulation of expressions within those systems. It is a generalization of arithmetic that introduces variables and algebraic ope ...

Vita

After studying mathematics and physics at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

(1963–1967) and his PhD (1967), Günter Pilz was assistant professor at several institutions: at the department of mathematics of the University of Vienna (1966–1968), at the department of statistics at the

Vienna University of Technology TU Wien () is a public research university in Vienna, Austria. The university's teaching and research are focused on engineering, computer science, and natural sciences. It currently has about 28,100 students (29% women), eight faculties, and ...

(1968–1969), as research associate at the department of mathematics,

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

, United States (1969–1970) and at the department of mathematics at the University of Linz (1970–1974). In 1971, he received his Habilitation. In 1974, he was promoted to a professor of mathematics at the JKU. He was head of the department of mathematics in Linz (1980–1983 und 1987–1993) and head of the Institute of Algebra (since 1996). From 1996 to 2000, Günter Pilz was dean of studies at the Faculty of Science and Technology and from 2000 to 2007 vice rector for research. Also, he was the chairman in the “Forum Research” of the Austrian Conference of Rectors from 2001 to 2005 and was chosen in 2003 to be the Austrian representative for Research Integrity in the corresponding

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

group. His main area of research is the theory and applications of algebraic structures. He is honorary professor at the Shandong University of Technology in China and Honorary Doctor from the

Ural State University The Ural State University (, , often shortened to USU, УрГУ) is a public university located in the city of Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russian Federation. Founded in 1920, it was an exclusive educational establishment made of several in ...

Ekaterinburg Yekaterinburg (, ; ), alternatively Romanization of Russian, romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( ; 1924–1991), is a city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. The ci ...

, Russia. He was also a member in the Council for Research and Technology in Upper Austria (2003–2008).

Main areas of research

* Theory and applications of

near-ring In mathematics, a near-ring (also near ring or nearring) is an algebraic structure similar to a ring but satisfying fewer axioms. Near-rings arise naturally from functions on groups. Definition A set ''N'' together with two binary operatio ...

s: these are "collections of objects with which one can calculate almost as well as with numbers". These near-rings have numerous applications, for instance in the construction of optimal designs for statistical experiments.

Prizes

* Honorary medal in silver, by the County of Upper Austria (2007/08)

External links

The Institute of Algebra

Publications by Günter Pilz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilz, Gunter 1945 births Living people Austrian mathematicians Academic staff of Johannes Kepler University Linz