Marc Pfetsch

Prof. Dr. Marc Pfetsch is a full professor of Discrete Optimization at the Technical University of Darmstadt, holding the W3 chair since 2012. He leads the Optimization Group within the Department of Mathematics and has served as Dean of the Department from October 2022 to September 2024. His research focuses on optimization methodologies, particularly in gas network modeling, discrete and mixed-integer programming, and computational algorithms. He is a core developer of the SCIP Optimization Suite, a leading solver for mixed-integer programming problems.

Education:

• Mathematics studies at the University of Heidelberg (1992–1997)
• Operations Research at Cornell University (1997–1998, via Fulbright Scholarship)
• PhD in Mathematics from TU Berlin (2002)
• Habilitation in Computational Aspects of Combinatorial Optimization (2008)

Research Interests:

• Discrete and combinatorial optimization
• Gas network optimization and resilience design
• Symmetry handling in mixed-integer programming
• Algorithm development for SCIP and optimization software

Key Projects:

• Transregio/SFB 154: Mathematical Modeling, Simulation, and Optimization of Gas Networks
• SCIP Optimization Suite development
• Clean Circles: Iron as an energy carrier for climate-neutral systems

Awards:

• EURO Excellence in Practice Award 2016 for "Evaluating Gas Network Capacities"

Grants and Labs:

• Principal investigator in multiple DFG projects (e.g., SPP 2298, Matheon)
• BMWi-funded projects on flexible heating networks and resilient systems