Willi Freeden

Prof. Dr. Willi Freeden is a renowned academic in mathematical geodesy and geophysics, affiliated with the University of Kaiserslautern's Faculty of Mathematics. He has held professorships since 1984 and transitioned to emeritus status in 2015. His research focuses on special functions, partial differential equations, and inverse problems with applications in geophysics and geothermal energy. Freeden has advised over 30 PhD students and authored/co-authored numerous books and papers.

Educational Background:

• 1971: Diplom in Mathematics
• 1972: Staatsexamen
• 1975: PhD, RWTH Aachen
• 1979: Habilitation, RWTH Aachen

Research Interests: His work bridges mathematics and geosciences, emphasizing constructive approximation methods (wavelets, splines), numerical geophysics, and satellite-based geodetic data analysis. Key areas include gravimetry, magnetometry, and geothermal resource modeling. Recent advancements include mollifier regularization and decorrelation techniques for geophysical data.

Publications & Grants: Authored/co-authored 23 books and over 150 papers. Notable works include Metaharmonic Lattice Point Theory (2011) and Geomathematically Oriented Potential Theory (2013). Awarded the 2018 IPMS Award and 2020 Vening Meinesz Medal.

Advising: Supervised 30+ PhD students (e.g., V. Michel on gravimetry, M. Schreiner on wavelet methods, I. Ostermann on geothermal modeling).

Labs & Teams: Leads the Geomathematics Group at Kaiserslautern, collaborating on projects like satellite gravity gradiometry and geothermal reservoir modeling. Active in interdisciplinary initiatives such as the Handbuch Tiefe Geothermie (2014).