Dr. Illia Karabash works at the University of Bonn’s Institute for Applied Mathematics, where he studies optimization methods and teaches mathematical analyses to physics students, among other things. As part of its Heisenberg Programme, the DFG will be funding the mathematician and his project entitled “Optimization of Resonances and Eigenvalues Associated with Dissipative Evolution Equations” over the next five years. Karabash explains: “It involves a relatively new mathematical theory that is useful for optimizing photonic crystals, for instance.” His main inspiration, he says, is the miniaturization of optical resonators, which are important for producing highly precise measurements in subatomic experimental physics and for quantum computing.
“This Heisenberg Grant will let me devote more time to research over the coming years,” he adds happily. The DFG’s Heisenberg Programme is open to researchers who already meet the criteria for being appointed to a permanent professorship. It allows them to continue working on their own high-caliber projects wherever they like in order to burnish their academic and scientific reputation and ready themselves for a management role in academia within a period of up to five years.
Biography
Illia Karabash was born in Ukraine in 1977 and studied mathematics and statistics in Donetsk. After completing his doctorate, he worked in Donetsk, in Zurich in Switzerland and in Calgary in Canada before a stint as a visiting researcher at the Universität zu Lübeck that was funded by the Volkswagen Foundation and the European Commission. Support from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation enabled him to work on various research projects and take on teaching commitments at the University of Bonn. He won several awards during his time as a student, including a bronze medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad in Hong Kong and a prize from the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine for the best mathematics paper by a student.