Roland Zdeněk Bulirsch (10 November 1932 – 21 September 2022) was a German mathematician specialising in

numerical analysis Numerical analysis is the study of algorithms that use numerical approximation (as opposed to symbolic computation, symbolic manipulations) for the problems of mathematical analysis (as distinguished from discrete mathematics). It is the study of ...

. He studied and taught at the

Technical University of Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; ) is a public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Established in 1868 by King Ludwig II ...

, and taught internationally as visiting professor. He was co-author of the reference book ''Introduction to Numerical Analysis'', and president of the edition of the works by

Johannes Kepler Johannes Kepler (27 December 1571 – 15 November 1630) was a German astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, Natural philosophy, natural philosopher and writer on music. He is a key figure in the 17th-century Scientific Revolution, best know ...

. He received honorary doctorates from international universities, and several awards.

Life and career

Bulirsch was born in

Liberec Liberec (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 108,000 inhabitants, making it the fifth largest city in the country. It lies on the Lusatian Neisse River, in a basin surrounded by mountains. The city centre is well preserved and is pr ...

(Reichenberg) on 10 November 1932. He had to leave Czechoslovakia in 1946. In 1947, he became an apprentice as a machinist with Siemens-Schuckert in Nuremberg, completing in 1951. He achieved the

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

in Nördlingen in 1954, and then studied mathematics and physics at the

to 1959, earning his Ph.D. there in 1961, supervised by

Klaus Samelson Klaus Samelson (21 December 1918 – 25 May 1980) was a German mathematician, physicist, and computer pioneer in the area of programming language translation and push-pop stack algorithms for sequential formula translation on computers. Early ...

, and his habilitation in mathematics in 1965. He taught as associated professor at the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

, from 1967 to 1969, and as professor of

applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematics, mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and Industrial sector, industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a ...

at the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne () is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in 1388. It closed in 1798 before being re-established in 1919. It is now one of the largest universities in Germany with around 45,187 students. The Universit ...

from 1969. He joined the faculty in Munich in 1973. He was elected a member of the

Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities () is an independent public institution, located in Munich. It appoints scholars whose research has contributed considerably to the increase of knowledge within their subject. The general goal of th ...

in 1991. In 1998 he became president of the edition of the works by

. He was emerited in 2001. Bulirsch specialised in

. He is the author (with

Josef Stoer Josef Stoer (born 21 June 1934) is a German mathematician specializing in numerical analysis and professor emeritus of the Institut für Mathematik of Universität Würzburg. Stoer was born in Meschede, and earned his Ph.D. in 1961 at Johanne ...

) of ''Introduction to Numerical Analysis'', a standard reference for the theory of

numerical methods Numerical analysis is the study of algorithms that use numerical approximation (as opposed to symbolic manipulations) for the problems of mathematical analysis (as distinguished from discrete mathematics). It is the study of numerical methods t ...

, and has also authored numerous other books and articles. The book ''From Nano to Space: Applied Mathematics Inspired by Roland Bulirsch'' is a tribute to his work. The Bulirsch–Stoer algorithm is named after him and Stoer. Bulirsch received honorary doctorates from the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (, also referred to as UHH) is a public university, public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('':de:Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen, ...

, the Technical University of Liberec, the National Technical University of Athens and the University of Viên Toán Hoc in Hanoi. He was awarded a medal from the Union of Czech Mathematicians and Physicists, and a medal from the

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

in Prague. In 1998, he received the Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art, and the following year the Liebig-Denkmünze, the highest award of the Heimatkreis Reichenberg. He was elected to the the same year. In 2012, he received the Großer Sudetendeutscher Kulturpreis.

Personal life

Bulirsch and his wife Waltraut had two daughters. She died in 2020. Bulirsch died in Gauting on 21 September 2022 at age 89.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bulirsch, Roland 1932 births 2022 deaths 20th-century German mathematicians Technical University of Munich alumni Academic staff of the Technical University of Munich Academic staff of the University of Cologne Members of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts Sudeten German people Scientists from Liberec