Michael Herbst

Michael Herbst is an Assistant Professor (tenure-track) at EPFL, holding a joint appointment in the School of Basic Sciences (SB) and the School of Engineering (STI). He leads the Mathematics for Materials Modelling (MatMat) research group, focusing on error control in atomistic simulations, density-functional theory (DFT), and interdisciplinary computational methods. His work bridges mathematics, materials science, and computer science, emphasizing robust algorithms and Julia-based software development. Herbst holds a PhD from Heidelberg University and has held postdoctoral positions at RWTH Aachen and Inria Paris. He is a core member of the MARVEL and CESMIX research centers.

Education:

• 2018: Dr. rer. nat. (magna cum laude), Heidelberg University
• 2009–2013: BA and MSci (1st class) in Natural Sciences, University of Cambridge
• 2008–2009: Studies in Mathematics/Physics, TU Kaiserslautern

Research Interests: Herbst's research centers on developing reliable computational methods for materials modeling, including error estimation in DFT, black-box SCF algorithms, and Julia-based tools like the Density-Functional Toolkit (DFTK). His work addresses challenges in high-throughput simulations, numerical stability, and interdisciplinary collaboration across mathematics, physics, and computer science.

Grants & Projects:

• MARVEL Center for Computational Design (EPFL)
• CESMIX Center for Extreme-Scale Simulations (MIT)
• EMC² Project (Sorbonne/Inria/École des Ponts)

Awards:

• HGS MathComp PostDoc Fellowship (2018–2021)
• DAAD Travel Funding (2018)
• Exploratory Research Space Fund (RWTH Aachen, 2022)

Labs & Teams: Head of the MatMat group at EPFL, focusing on error-controlled simulations and open-source software development.