Tizian Wenzel, former doctoral researcher at the Cluster of Excellence SimTech and the Institute for Applied Analysis and Numerical Simulation (IANS) at the University of Stuttgart, has been awarded the Leslie Fox Prize for Numerical Analysis by the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) – the UK’s leading society for applied and industrial mathematics.
This highly prestigious international award is one of the most renowned honors in numerical mathematics for early-career researchers worldwide. Awarded biennially to scientists under the age of 31, it recognizes exceptional originality, rigor, and presentation skills in numerical analysis. Former recipients include researchers who have since become leading voices in scientific computing, simulation science, and applied mathematics – placing Tizian in a distinguished academic lineage.
While Wenzel is now based at LMU Munich, following a postdoctoral position in Hamburg, the work that led to this recognition was carried out almost entirely during his time in Stuttgart at SimTech and IANS, where he conducted his doctoral research under the supervision of Bernard Haasdonk and in collaboration with former SimTech member Gabriele Santin (Univ. of Venice).
Tizian Wenzel’s work tackles one of the central challenges in modern computational science: how to combine the solid theoretical foundations of kernel-based numerical methods with the flexibility and expressiveness of deep learning models.
Wenzel’s work is exemplary of SimTech’s mission: enabling simulation-based science by integrating mathematical depth, algorithmic innovation, and real-world application. His contributions address urgent needs in fields with scarce data and high model complexity – such as engineering, biomedical simulation, and computational physics.
Beyond their immediate applications, his algorithms and theoretical results have already started to influence ongoing research in kernel-based PDE solvers, machine learning model reduction, and physics-informed learning.
We warmly congratulate Tizian Wenzel on this outstanding achievement. We also extend our sincere congratulations to Bernard Haasdonk and Gabriele Santin, whose guidance and mentorship played a key role in enabling this exceptional work.