Matthias Köppe

Matthias Köppe is a full Professor of Mathematics at the University of California, Davis, where he also chairs the Graduate Group in Applied Mathematics. He is a leading figure in mathematical optimization, integer programming, and computational discrete mathematics, with significant contributions to the development of open-source mathematical software, particularly SageMath and its modularized fork passagemath.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Mathematics, University of Magdeburg, Germany (2002)

Research Focus:
Köppe's research spans mathematical optimization, integer programming, computational discrete mathematics, and mathematical software development. His work includes foundational studies on the Gomory–Johnson infinite group problem, cutting plane theory, Ehrhart quasi-polynomials, and polynomial optimization over polytopes. He also develops and maintains software tools for exact integration, lattice point enumeration, and algebraic combinatorics.

Research Trends:
Across his publications, a clear trend emerges toward integrating algebraic and geometric methods into discrete optimization. His recent work focuses on equivariant perturbation theory, automated theorem discovery, and software infrastructure for optimization research. He has also contributed to open-access publishing and open-source software ecosystems.

Scientific Service & Awards:
Köppe serves or has served on editorial boards including Mathematical Programming A, Asia-Pacific Journal of Operational Research, and SN Operations Research Forum. He has led or co-led major NSF-funded projects such as Next-Generation Cutting Planes: Compression, Automation, Diversity, and Computer-Assisted Mathematics (2020–2025).

Advising & Collaborations:
He has mentored a number of Ph.D. students who now hold academic or industry positions, including:

• Amitabh Basu (Johns Hopkins)
• Robert Hildebrand (Virginia Tech)
• Brandon Dutra (Google)
• Yuan Zhou (University of Kentucky)
• Jiawei Wang (Uber)
• Chun Yu Hong (Google)

Labs & Teams:
Köppe is a core contributor to the SageMath project and the lead developer of passagemath, a pip-installable modularized fork of SageMath. He is also affiliated with the UC Davis TETRAPODS Institute of Data Science (UCD4IDS), the Center for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Research (CeDAR), and UC Davis DataLab.