Panel Discussion: A Conversation with Ingrid Daubechies, Karen Uhlenbeck and Maryna Viazovska

Karen Keskulla Uhlenbeck, Maryna Viazovska, Anna Wienhard, Ingrid Daubechies

Moderator: Anna Wienhard
Anna Wienhard, Scientific Chair of the Heidelberg Laureate Forum Foundation since 2020, studied Mathematics and Theology at the University of Bonn and obtained her doctorate in Mathematics there in 2004. Her career led her to various research stays in Switzerland and the United States, including at Princeton University. Later, Anna Wienhard became Chair of Differential Geometry at Heidelberg University and Group Leader at the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies. In 2022, she was appointed director at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences in Leipzig. Wienhard has received numerous honors and awards. She is a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society and an elected member of the Heidelberg and the Berlin-Brandenburg Academies of Science, the Leopoldina and the European Academy of Science.

Karen Keskulla Uhlenbeck
Abel Prize - 2019
For her pioneering achievements in geometric partial differential equations, gauge theory and integrable systems, and for the fundamental impact of her work on analysis, geometry and mathematical physics.

Maryna Viazovska
Fields Medal - 2022
For the proof that the E8 lattice provides the densest packing of identical spheres in 8 dimensions, and further contributions to related extremal problems and interpolation problems in Fourier analysis.

Ingrid Daubechies
Ingrid Daubechies majored in physics at the Free University of Brussels where she went on to earn her doctorate in theoretical physics. She is most well-known for her work in the field of wavelets. These mathematical tools allow efficient information packaging, especially when signals undergo sudden dramatic changes. Daubechies is currently the James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Mathematics and Electrical and Computer Engineering at Duke University. She was named a MacArthur Fellow, and her many honors include the National Academy of Sciences Award in Mathematics, the L’Oréal-UNESCO International Award for Women in Science, and the 2023 Wolf Prize in Mathematics. Outside of academia, Dr. Daubechies has teamed up with fiber artist Dominique Ehrmann to create an exhibit called Mathemalchemy.