Jesse Ratzkin

Jesse Ratzkin is a Lecturer at the University of Würzburg's Chair of Mathematics VI (Mathematics in the Natural Sciences). He holds a PhD from the University of Washington (2001) and a B.A. from UC Berkeley (1995). His research focuses on geometric analysis, including mean curvature, Q-curvature, eigenvalues of the Laplace-Beltrami operator, and isoperimetric inequalities. He has held academic positions globally, including a tenured role at the University of Cape Town (2010–2016).

His research has been funded by grants such as the National Research Foundation of South Africa (2013–2016) and NSF fellowships. Notable publications include works on Q-curvature metrics, Sobolev inequalities, and geometric flows. He actively participates in academic service, including editorial roles and organizing international conferences.

Teaching spans institutions like the University of Cape Town, where he designed courses in PDEs, linear algebra, and complex analysis. He has supervised PhD students like Murray Christian and mentored over 8 final-year projects. His outreach efforts include high school math programs in South Africa and Ireland.