The Taste of Mathematics - Felix Otto at 60

We warmly congratulate our director Felix Otto on several special milestones this year, including his 60th birthday and his invitation as a plenary speaker at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM), while also celebrating 30 years of the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences.

Three special events celebrate Felix Otto’s scientific achievements as one of the leading researchers in analysis and applied mathematics.

Last week, the University of Leipzig hosted a Special Colloquium Day in honor of his 60th birthday, featuring talks by Stephan Luckhaus (University of Leipzig) and Stefan Müller (University of Bonn). Further celebrations include the conference Perspectives in Applied Mathematics from May 26 to 29 in Bonn, which focuses on current developments in applied mathematics, including materials science, fluid dynamics, stochastic models, homogenization, optimal transport, and regularity theory. In addition, the conference Pattern Formation, Energy Landscapes, and Scaling Laws – celebrating Felix Otto as a mentor, collaborator, and mathematician will take place in Paris from June 29 to July 3, organized by the CNRS and Sorbonne Université. 

Felix Otto was invited as a plenary speaker to the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) in Philadelphia, one of the highest honors in mathematics. The ICM, held once every four years, is attended by the world’s leading mathematicians and presents groundbreaking developments in the field. Felix Otto sees the invitation as a recognition of his own work, but also as an opportunity to represent his research area, our institute and the Max Planck Society. 

Scientific Career and Research 

After studying and completing his doctorate in Bonn, Felix Otto worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Courant Institute in New York and later as a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 1999, he returned to Germany to take up a chair in Mathematical Physics at the University of Bonn before joining the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences, founded in 1996, in Leipzig as director in 2010. 

Felix Otto has received numerous distinctions throughout his career, including the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize of the German Research Foundation DFG, the Max Planck Research Award, the Collatz Prize, the Blaise Pascal Medal for Mathematics of the European Academy of Sciences, the Georg Cantor Medal of the German Mathematical Society DMV, the Prof. Luigi Tartufari International Prize for Mathematics from the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, and the Levi-Civita Prize for the Mathematical and Mechanical Sciences.

He is a member of several prestigious academies – the Academy of Science of the State of Nordrhein-Westfalen, the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, and the Academia Europaea.

Beyond his scientific achievements, Felix Otto is deeply committed to mentoring young researchers. He has supervised 27 doctoral theses and supported numerous postdoctoral researchers. He has served for eight years on the Review Board of the German Science Foundation, and was chair of the Scientific Committee of Oberwolfach.

The research group led by Felix Otto focuses on mathematical models arising from materials science and fluid mechanics. Using tools from the calculus of variations, partial differential equations, numerical simulation, and increasingly probabilistic methods, the group investigates pattern formation, scaling laws, and multi-scale phenomena — seeking to deepen the understanding of physically relevant systems while advancing mathematics itself. 

Video Portrait

Our managing director László Székelyhidi spoke with Felix Otto about his personal journey, the field of mathematics, and our Max Planck Institute. Discover a very personal video portrait offering many insights into his research and the taste of mathematics.