Markus J. Pflaum

My name is Markus J. Pflaum. I am a Professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Colorado Boulder since 2007. I graduated 1995 from the University of Munich with a thesis on deformation quantization and obtained my habilitation from Humboldt University Berlin in 2001 for my work on stratified spaces.

My research interests are pretty broad and range from mathematical physics (topological phases of matter and molecular energy landscapes) over noncommutative geometry and topological data analysis to real algebraic geometry and singularity theory.

One particular goal of my research in nonlinear algebra is to find and describe singularities in algebraic varieties or more generally in subanalytic sets. Borrowing from ideas on learning algebraic varieties as developed at the MPI MiS, I jointly proposed with my students El Sai and Gara a heuristic for finding singular loci in real algebraic varieties. The singularity heuristic has been partially implemented and applied to an example from chemistry. It has strong connections to machine learning and algebraic statistics which are being discussed at the MPI MiS and are intended to be further explored.

In my free time, I enjoy to go to open-air rock concerts, hike in the Rockies, run with my dog, and to grill in the garden.