Nicolas R. Gauger

Prof. Dr. Nicolas R. Gauger is Full Professor and Chairholder for Scientific Computing at the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU), holding dual appointments in the Department of Mathematics and Department of Computer Science. He directs the university's Computing Center (RHRZ) and leads the SciComp research team, with prior roles at DLR Braunschweig, Humboldt University Berlin, RWTH Aachen University, and MIT.

His academic background includes a Master in Mathematics (Dipl.-Math.) from Leibniz University Hannover (1998) and a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics (Dr.rer.nat.) from Braunschweig University of Technology (2003).

• 1998-2010: Research Scientist, Numerical Methods for Aerodynamics at DLR Braunschweig
• 2005-2010: Assistant Professor (W1), Department of Mathematics, Humboldt University Berlin
• 2010-2014: Associate Professor (W2), RWTH Aachen University
• 2014: Visiting Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Prof. Gauger's research centers on optimization under uncertainty for complex physical systems. His work integrates Algorithmic Differentiation with Machine Learning to advance Computational Fluid Dynamics, Aeroacoustics, and Structural Mechanics. Recent projects focus on medical applications like proton computed tomography (pCT) for cancer treatment through SIVERT and AI Care initiatives, alongside aerodynamic design for noise reduction and flow control.

His 2025 publications reveal a dominant trend in end-to-end differentiable programming for physics-based optimization, particularly in fundamental particle physics experiments and medical imaging. Key subfields include diffusion models for detector design, reinforcement learning for particle tracking, and robust optimization frameworks applied to turbulence modeling and proton therapy.

Scientific recognition includes:

• Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), 2018
• Teaching Award from RPTU, June 2025

He has advised doctoral students including award-winning researcher Max Aehle (2025 Freundeskreis RPTU Outstanding Dissertation Award). Major grants include leadership of the Excellence Initiative-funded AICES Graduate School (2010-2019), the Center for Mathematical and Computational Modelling (CM)² (2014-2019), and the MathApp (2019-2024) and MSO (2024-present) research initiatives. Current projects like SIVERT and AI Care apply AI to cancer therapy.

Prof. Gauger co-leads the Fraunhofer Performance Center's R&D Lab for Data Analysis and AI, serves on the Managing Board of ERCOFTAC (European Research Community on Flow, Turbulence and Combustion), and chairs the Steering Committee of ERCOFTAC's Special Interest Group on Design Optimization. His team develops critical AD tools including CoDiPack and OpDiLib within the NHR South-West high-performance computing consortium.