Karl-Theodor Sturm

Karl-Theodor Sturm is a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Bonn, holding this position since 1997. He is affiliated with the Institute for Applied Mathematics and leads the Cluster of Excellence Hausdorff Center for Mathematics. His academic journey includes a PhD (1989) and habilitation (1993) from the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, followed by postdoctoral positions at Zurich, Erlangen-Nürnberg, and the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences (MPI Leipzig). He has held visiting professorships at Stanford, Toulouse, Paris, and Bonn.

Sturm's research focuses on stochastic analysis and geometric analysis, particularly in optimal transport, metric measure spaces, synthetic curvature bounds, and diffusion processes. His work on synthetic Ricci curvature bounds, developed in competition with Cédric Villani, has been highly influential. He received the ERC Advanced Grant (2016-2022) for research on metric measure spaces and Ricci curvature, and was a Plenary Speaker at the 2020 European Congress of Mathematics.

His leadership roles include Vice Chairman of Collaborative Research Center SFB 611 (2002–2012), Managing Director of the Institute for Applied Mathematics (2007–2010), and Coordinator of the Hausdorff Center for Mathematics (2012–2019). Awards include the Heisenberg Fellowship (1994) and recognition through numerous invited lectures and editorial roles. His mentorship has shaped the careers of prominent researchers such as Nicola Gigli and Jan Maas.