Yuri Tschinkel Elected to German National Academy of Sciences

Yuri Tschinkel, director of the Simons Foundation’s Mathematics and Physical Sciences division, has been elected to the Leopoldina, the German National Academy of Sciences. The honor recognizes Tschinkel’s mathematical contributions, ­which focus on problems at the interface of algebraic geometry and number theory.

The Leopoldina, founded in 1652, is the oldest continuously operating scientific society in the world. The academy is a free association of scholars that works to advance scientific development beyond the boundaries of countries and disciplines. Around three-quarters of its members are from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Notable past members include Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein and Max Planck.

Tschinkel’s research centers on the study of rational points and rational curves on algebraic varieties. Before joining the foundation in 2012, Tschinkel was a faculty member at the University of Illinois at Chicago, a visiting associate professor at Princeton University, the Gauss chair of mathematics at the University of Göttingen, and chair of the mathematics department at New York University’s Courant Institute.

He is a fellow of the American Mathematical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.