Ulrich Wilhelm Kohlenbach (born 27 July 1962 in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

) is a German mathematician and professor 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 ...

and

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

at the

Technische Universität Darmstadt The Technische Universität Darmstadt (official English name Technical University of Darmstadt, sometimes also referred to as Darmstadt University of Technology), commonly known as TU Darmstadt, is a research university in the city of Darmsta ...

. His research interests lie in the field of proof mining. Kohlenbach was president of the German Association for Mathematical Logic and for Basic Research in the Exact Sciences (DVMLG) from 2008 to 2012 and president of the

Association for Symbolic Logic The Association for Symbolic Logic (ASL) is an international organization of specialists in mathematical logic and philosophical logic. The ASL was founded in 1936, and its first president was Curt John Ducasse. The current president of the ASL ...

from 2016 to 2018.

Life

He graduated ('Abitur') from Lessing-Gymnasium (High School) in 1980 and completed his studies of mathematics, philosophy, and

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

with a

diplom A ''Diplom'' (, from ) is an academic degree in the German-speaking countries Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and a similarly named degree in some other European countries including Albania, Bulgaria, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...

from the

Goethe University Frankfurt Goethe University Frankfurt () is a public research university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealthy and active liberal citizenry of Frankfurt ...

. During his studies he received a scholarship from the

Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes The German Academic Scholarship Foundation (German: , or ''Studienstiftung'' for short) is Germany's largest and most prestigious scholarship foundation. According to its statutes, it supports "the university education of young people who, on ac ...

. At the same university, he received his Ph.D. in 1990 under the supervision of Horst Luckhardt and passed his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

('venia legendi') in mathematics five years later. During the academic year 1996/1997 he was a visiting assistant professor at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. In 1997, he became an associate professor at

Aarhus University Aarhus University (, abbreviated AU) is a public research university. Its main campus is located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Group, the Guild, and Ut ...

where he worked until 2004. Kohlenbach is now a full professor at the

. He is married to Gabriele Bahl-Kohlenbach with whom he has a daughter. In 2011, he received the prestigious Kurt Gödel Research Prize of the Kurt Gödel Society. He was an invited speaker at the 2018

International Congress of Mathematicians The International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) is the largest conference for the topic of mathematics. It meets once every four years, hosted by the International Mathematical Union (IMU). The Fields Medals, the IMU Abacus Medal (known before ...

in Rio de Janeiro. In 2024, he was selected as the first ringbearer of the

Ernst Zermelo Ernst Friedrich Ferdinand Zermelo (; ; 27 July 187121 May 1953) was a German logician and mathematician, whose work has major implications for the foundations of mathematics. He is known for his role in developing Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory, Z ...

Ring.

References

External links

* at

Mathematical logicians 1962 births Living people 20th-century German mathematicians 21st-century German mathematicians Goethe University Frankfurt alumni Academic staff of Technische Universität Darmstadt {{Germany-mathematician-stub