Petra Schwer

Petra Schwer is a full professor of Geometry at Heidelberg University, holding the position since February 2024. Previously, she was a professor at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg (2018–2024) and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (2014–2018). She has also held research and academic positions at institutions including the University of Münster and UC Davis.

Education: She earned her PhD in Mathematics from Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster in 2009, supported by a stipend from the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes. Prior to that, she received her Diplom in Mathematics from the University of Bonn in 2005.

Research Interests: Her work focuses on the interplay between geometric structures and group theory, particularly in metric spaces of nonpositive curvature, polyhedral complexes, and Coxeter groups. She explores geometric and combinatorial aspects of buildings, including Bruhat-Tits buildings and their generalizations, using methods from geometric group theory and metric geometry.

Key Contributions: Recent publications include studies on folded galleries in affine buildings, the geometry of Coxeter groups, and the application of cube complexes in computational geometry. These contributions highlight her expertise in nonpositive curvature and geometric group theory.

Grants and Funding: Dr. Schwer has secured grants such as DFG projects on buildings and symmetric spaces, collaborative grants in mathematical complexity reduction, and initiatives like the Young Investigator Network exploring geometric data analysis.

Students and Advising: She has advised doctoral and master’s students including Isobel Davies, Marco Lotz, and Anna Michael (OVGU); Julia Heller and Annette Karrer (KIT). Her teaching includes advanced topics in geometry and group theory.