Gerhard Wanner
Gerhard Wanner | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1942 Innsbruck, Austria |
| Residence | Geneva, Switzerland |
| Nationality | Austrian |
| Known for | Ritzian Relativity |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics, numerical analysis |
Gerhard Wanner (born 1942) is an Austrian mathematician and professor emeritus at the University of Geneva. He is known for his work in numerical analysis, particularly the numerical solution of ordinary differential equations and geometric numerical integration. He is the co-author, with Ernst Hairer, of several widely used monographs and textbooks noted for their historical approach to mathematics.
Biography
Gerhard Wanner was born in 1942 in Innsbruck, Austria. He studied mathematics at the University of Innsbruck, where he earned his doctorate in 1965 under the supervision of Wolfgang Gröbner, with a dissertation on the numerical treatment of boundary value problems. He subsequently held a teaching position at Innsbruck before joining the University of Geneva in 1973, where he served as a full professor until his retirement in 2007. Wanner was president of the Swiss Mathematical Society from 1998 to 1999.
Work
Wanner's research concerns the numerical analysis of ordinary differential equations, geometric numerical integration, and structure-preserving algorithms. Together with Ernst Hairer he wrote a two-volume monograph on the numerical solution of ordinary differential equations that has become a standard reference in the field. His textbooks are noted for presenting mathematics through its historical development, tracing the origins of concepts and methods.
Wanner has also written on the history of mathematical methods, including the paper "From Euler, Ritz, and Galerkin to Modern Computing," which traces the development of variational and finite-element methods. This historical interest connects to figures such as Walther Ritz, whose work on variational methods and criticism of Einstein's relativity is a subject of discussion on this wiki.
Honors
- Peter Henrici Prize (2003), awarded jointly with Ernst Hairer
- SIAM George Pólya Prize for Mathematical Exposition (2015), the inaugural award, recognizing his co-authored books for presenting deep mathematics with elegance, scholarship, and historical insight
Books
- Solving Ordinary Differential Equations I: Nonstiff Problems, with Ernst Hairer and Syvert P. Nørsett (Springer)
- Solving Ordinary Differential Equations II: Stiff and Differential-Algebraic Problems, with Ernst Hairer (Springer)
- Geometric Numerical Integration: Structure-Preserving Algorithms for Ordinary Differential Equations, with Ernst Hairer and Christian Lubich (Springer)
- Analysis by Its History, with Ernst Hairer (Springer)
- Geometry by Its History, with Alexander Ostermann (Springer)
External links
- Gerhard Wanner on Wikipedia