Pittsburgh-based mathematician Armin Schikorra has been awarded the prestigious Humboldt Research Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, one of Germany's most distinguished awards for international researchers.
Schikorra, who is an associate professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Pittsburgh, studies partial differential equations -- equations that describe most of the known behavior of the universe, from physics to biology etc.
A particular focus of his research are so-called nonlocal or fractional equations, which are equations that involve a fractional derivative. These have the property that makes them able to capture effects such as fractures in materials, better than classical differential equations.
The fellowship will enable Schikorra to travel to Germany for up to 12 months over the next three years, where he will conduct research on these equations at Bielefeld University. In addition to funding his travel, the fellowship will also provide personal research support to Schikorra. This is a significant achievement for the mathematician, and his research is expected to benefit from the foundation's support.