Press Releases

The Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM experienced three days of intensive exchange: More than sixty international scientists accepted the invitation of the two organizers Prof. Dr. Anita Schöbel, Director of Fraunhofer ITWM, and Prof. Dr. Bernd Simeon from the Department of Mathematics at TU Kaiserslautern. The aim of this conference is to provide a forum for applied mathematicians from universities, research laboratories, and industry to exchange ideas and present the latest research results.

Fraud in the billing of outpatient care services has become a criminal phenomenon with increasing case numbers in recent years. This causes great damage to the social insurance system and results in enormous costs of several billion euros annually for the community of solidarity. Together with the Public Prosecutor's Office in Dresden and the Commissariat for Economic Crime of the Leipzig Police Department, researchers of Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM are taking action against this. They are developing AI software against billing fraud in the »PflegeForensik« project. The work is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

Nonwoven production received more attention than ever before from the gen-eral public in Corona times, because the technical textile is crucial for infection protection. The ultra-fine nonwoven products are manufactured in so-called meltblown processes. A cross-departmental team at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM in Kaiserslautern is optimizing the entire produc-tion chain in the »ProQuIV« project. Simulations help to guarantee the product quality of the filter material despite fluctuations in production.

In a disaster, whether floods, earthquakes or hurricanes, every second counts in providing humanitarian aid to those in need. The teams of aid organisations are under immense time pressure to find their way in devastated areas. A team from the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM in Kaiserslautern is developing software that will get humanitarian aid to the right destination faster. To do this, they use drone images that are evaluated in real time with artificial intelligence (AI).

AI systems can improve healthcare, increase recovery chances for patients and assist physicians in their diagnoses. The challenge is that artificial intelligence consumes an enormous amount of power. The Fraunhofer Institutes for Integrated Circuits IIS and for Industrial Mathematics ITWM have developed solutions for energy-saving AI chips that can help with early stage detection of atrial fibrillation – a special heart rhythm disorder – in the future. For their ideas, the two institutes were each awarded 1st place in the pilot innovation contest “Energy-efficient AI systems” from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

How do infectious aerosols spread in supermarkets, airplanes, and other indoor areas where large numbers of people congregate? Researchers from 15 Fraunhofer institutes and institutions are investigating this in the »AVATOR« project. The Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM is on board and is developing a multi-scale simulator for this purpose, which can be used to calculate aerosol dispersion indoors.

Prof. Dr. Anita Schöbel has been elected as the next president by the Council of the »Association of European Operational Research Societies« (EURO) on July 9, 2021, unanimously and without abstentions. The director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM will take up her office in January 2022, initially as »President Elect«.

The third wave of the Corona pandemic is considered to be broken – since the end of April 2021, the numbers have been clearly declining. Researchers at Fraunhofer ITWM have used the EpideMSE software to mathematically analyze the effects that different measures had in combating the pandemic. Mass testing proved to be particularly effective.

The German Society for Actuarial and Financial Mathematics e.V. (DGVFM) and the German Actuarial Association e.V. (DAV) awarded the prestigious GAUSS Prize and three GAUSS Young Investigator Prizes for outstanding scientific work in actuarial and financial mathematics on June 8, 2021. One of the prizes goes to Kaiserslautern: Franziska Diez is awarded for her dissertation. At the same event, Prof. Dr. Ralf Korn was elected DGVFM chairman.

On 31 May, the board of the International Society for Porous Media (InterPore) will award the »InterPore Meritorious Service Medal« for the first time. The award winner is Prof. Dr. Oleg Iliev from the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM. The award honours his many years of extraordinary commitment to the InterPore society.