Today (February 19, 2024), the KIT Senate has confirmed with very large majority the election of Professor Jan S. Hesthaven as President of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) by the Supervisory Board in January this year. The 58-year-old Danish mathematician intends to significantly strengthen KIT’s international orientation and standing in worldwide competition. Presently, Hesthaven is Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland. Jan S. Hesthaven will presumably assume office in the second half of this year. Moreover, the KIT Senate has confirmed the election of Dr. Stefan Schwartze as Vice President Finance, Human Resources, and Infrastructure.
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“I cordially congratulate the new KIT President Professor Hesthaven and the new Vice President Dr. Schwartze on their election. I am convinced that Professor Hesthaven will further strengthen KIT in worldwide competition and advance both large-scale research and the university with his vast expertise, know-how, and leadership competence,” says Federal Minister of Education and Research Bettina Stark-Watzinger. “The new President and the new Vice President will doubtlessly make an essential contribution to the further development of KIT. I wish them much success.”
“I cordially congratulate Professor Hesthaven on his election for Presidency of KIT. I am happy that the selection procedure for the succession of Professor Hanselka was completed within a relatively short period of time. Winning a person like Jan S. Hesthaven also reflects the attractiveness of KIT. Hesthaven’s expertise and vast international experience will benefit the further development and standing of KIT. I wish him much success. We have now set the course for the future,” says Baden-Württemberg Minister for Science, Research, and the Arts Petra Olschowski.
“Professor Hesthaven has presented a convincing vision for KIT. I am sure that he will push both the international standing of KIT and the scientific and cultural advancement of our unique institution,” says the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of KIT, Professor Michael Kaschke. “His reputation as a scientist and his vast expertise in leading large science organizations make him an ideal person for presidency and for shaping the next stage of KIT.”
“I would like to cordially thank the KIT Senate and Supervisory Board for their big trust in me,” says Professor Jan S. Hesthaven. “I very much look forward to my future tasks at KIT and in particular to the exchange with KIT’s staff and students. Together with them and with my colleagues in the Executive Board, we will continue to shape KIT as a unique science institution. I am convinced that we can further advance the standing of KIT with its great potential not only in Germany, but also on the international level.”
“Clear confirmation of the election of Professor Hesthaven by the KIT Senate is a very encouraging signal,” says Professor Oliver Kraft, Acting President of KIT. “As a science institution, KIT is facing big challenges, including work on the solution of the most pressing problems of our time, preparing students and early-stage researchers for responsible tasks, and pushing transfer of knowledge to society. These challenges also comprise the constant further development of KIT and its standing in both the Excellence Strategy Competition and the program-oriented funding scheme of the Helmholtz Association. These challenges will be addressed by the Executive Board of KIT, which will now be completed by Professor Hesthaven. We look forward to cooperating with him.”
“I look forward to cooperating with Jan S. Hesthaven. His vast international expertise, outstanding scientific know-how, and strategic intuition will not only advance research and academic education at KIT, but also enrich the exchange of ideas within the Helmholtz Association,” says Professor Otmar Wiestler, President of the Helmholtz Association. ”With him, we win an acknowledged expert for the transfer of information sciences to industry and society. For instance, Hesthaven developed new computation methods and algorithms for machine learning, for supercomputers, and for complex simulations. These are valuable instruments to jointly address the challenges of our time.”
The term of office of the President of KIT is six years. Jan S. Hesthaven will presumably assume office in the second half of this year. He will succeed Professor Holger Hanselka, who was elected President of Fraunhofer Gesellschaft at short notice last year.
Professor Jan S. Hesthaven, born in 1965, has been Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne) since 2021. His scope of responsibility includes strong integration of research in academic education, all appointment procedures, as well as close cooperation with the President of EPFL on the university’s strategic orientation, among others. Since 2013, Hesthaven has been Professor of Mathematics of EPFL. Before, in 1995, he started to work at Brown University, one of the oldest and most renowned universities in the USA, where was Founding Director of the Center for Computation and Visualization (2006 to 2013). Having co-founded the Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics, he served as its Deputy Director from 2010 to 2013. Hesthaven studied Computational Physics and earned his doctorate at the Technical University of Denmark in Copenhagen. His successful research is reflected by more than 175 publications in scientific journals. Professor Hesthaven is Fellow of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, of the American Mathematical Society (AMS), and of the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM). Moreover, he is Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Academia Europaea.
KIT Senate also Confirms the Election of Stefan Schwartze as Vice President Finance, Human Resources, and Infrastructure
In January, the Supervisory Board of KIT also elected Dr. Stefan Schwartze Vice President Finance, Human Resources, and Infrastructure. During its meeting today (February 19, 2024), the KIT Senate confirmed this vote with very large majority. Dr. Schwartze has a doctoral degree in law and is Administrative Executive Director of the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam / German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). Schwartze will succeed Michael Ganß, who will retire in summer this year. Again, the term of office is six years.
“Dr. Schwartze is an acknowledged expert in the administration of universities and large research institutions. He possesses vast legal and financial know-how,” emphasizes the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of KIT, Professor Michael Kaschke. “I am convinced that Mr. Schwartze will address the challenges and opportunities associated with this big and demanding executive board department in a determined and cooperative way.”
“I would like to cordially thank the bodies of KIT for their trust. A big science institution, such as KIT, lives on its staff in research, academic education, administration, and infrastructure. Together, we can accomplish a lot, but we are facing highly demanding tasks,” says Dr. Stefan Schwartze. “I look forward to using my experience gained from work at several science institutions for the benefit of KIT.”
“I am also very happy about the KIT Senate having confirmed the election of Dr. Schwartze,” says Professor Oliver Kraft, Acting President of KIT. “The Executive Board Department of Finance, Human Resources, and Infrastructure is associated with very complex tasks that require a prudent approach and a steady hand. I am sure that Mr. Schwartze will perfectly fill the Vice President’s office based on his experience gained from several executive functions in the Helmholtz Association and at universities.”
Dr. Stefan Schwartze, born in 1966, has been Administrative Executive Director of the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam – German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) since 2011. From 2019 to 2022, he also worked as Administrative Vice President of the Helmholtz Association. Before, from 2008 to 2011, Schwartze was Chancellor of the University of Münster. Prior to that, he worked at the Max Delbrück Centre for Molecular Medicine, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and the German Research Foundation. Schwartze studied law at the universities of Mannheim, Heidelberg, and Münster and earned his doctorate at the University of Bochum.
Being “The Research University in the Helmholtz Association”, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 10,000 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 22,800 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence.