dr. rer. mat. night (18.01.2023)
Presenting a complex research project in three minutes is a tough task.
On Wednesday, 27 doctoral students and PostDocs accepted this challenge and presented their research topics at the dr. rer. mat. night. More than 100 listeners followed the young researchers‘ explanations with great interest.
The talks reflected the full variety of mathematical research at RWTH. Within 2 hours, besides many others the topics medical statistics, geometric analysis, topology, partial differential equations, combinatorial optimization, and uncertainty quantification were discussed. More than 10 institutes took part.
The design of the slides was manifold as well. Self-drawn pictures, diagrams, video clips, and pictures of cats replaced long formulas. The speakers’ passion for their work became visible. A three-minute countdown ran during each lightning talk, and the sound of a thunderstorm signaled its expiration. “Due to the strict time limit, the speakers can’t get stuck in details, and, thus, the audience can keep track,” said Lukas Bundrock, one speaker.
Afterwards, the participants and listeners got together in the Sky Lounge on top of the RWTH main building. They discussed the talks gleefully with colleagues and students. The consulting company d-fine sponsored drinks and food.
“While planning, we calculated with 50 people. It is amazing that much more came,” reports Anna Lagemann, an organizer, happily. In particular, that so many students attended, is a surprising success. Giacomo Borghi, Nicolas Freches, Anna Lagemann, and Axel Wings initialized and organized the event after they had seen the concept at a summer school last year. Given the positive feedback, it is planned to make this a regular appointment. Get in touch with Nicolas Freches (freches@instmath.rwth-aachen.de) if you want to be part of the organizing team!