David Ziener

Hi, I am David and currently a PhD student under the supervision of László Székelyhidi.

Prior to moving to Leipzig, I completed my master’s degree at ETH Zürich under the supervision of Alessio Figalli and André Guerra. Mathematically speaking, I am interested in PDEs and variational problems, particularly those with geometric aspects. More specifically, I am working on harmonic maps, magnetic vector fields, and shape variational problems involving capacity and other geometric quantities. What fascinates me most about these problems is that abstract mathematical tools can be used to describe and sometimes even predict phenomena that can be observed in real-world experiments, such as the shape of a soap bubble, the formation of defects in liquid crystals, or the magnetization of a steel cylinder.

When I am not doing mathematics, I spend most of my free time on the tennis court, as I am a very passionate tennis player. Apart from playing tennis, I like to listen to classical music. Since I am a big fan of Bach, Leipzig is, of course, a very exciting place to live and work.