Department of Mathematics and Computer Science

About the lectureAging is often presented as one of the greatest scientific challenges of our time. Yet understanding why some individuals remain healthy well into old age while others develop disease requires insights from many disciplines, including genetics, epidemiology, medicine, statistics, demography, and the social sciences.In this lecture, Sara Hägg will explore how modern aging research has evolved from gerontology and geriatrics to understanding the biological processes that drive healthy aging. Drawing on examples from large population studies and molecular aging research, she will discuss how biological age can be measured, what these measures can and cannot tell us, and how they are shaping current efforts to improve healthspan.The lecture will also reflect on the opportunities and challenges of interdisciplinary research, highlighting how scientific breakthroughs often emerge at the intersection of fields and why collaboration is essential for addressing complex questions about aging, health, and longevity.About the speakerSara Hägg is Associate Professor of Molecular Epidemiology at Karolinska Institutet and an internationally recognized researcher in the biology of human aging. She leads a research group that investigates why people age differently and how genetic, molecular, environmental, and lifestyle factors shape trajectories of health and disease across the lifespan.Her research combines epidemiology, genetics, biostatistics, omics and bioinformatics to identify biomarkers of biological aging and to understand their relationship with age-related diseases, functional decline, and mortality. Using large population-based cohorts and advanced causal inference methods, she studies mechanisms of healthy aging and evaluates potential interventions aimed at extending healthspan rather than simply lifespan.Sara serves as Principal Investigator for several major national and international research projects funded by organizations including the Swedish Research Council and the U.S. National Institute on Aging. Her work has contributed to the development and evaluation of biological age measures that are increasingly used in research and precision medicine.Beyond academia, Sara is a highly sought-after science communicator and public speaker. She frequently appears in newspapers, television, radio, podcasts, and public debates, where she provides evidence-based perspectives on aging, longevity, and preventive health, helping bridge the gap between scientific discovery and public understanding.The event is organized by Moustapha Kassem

Speaker: Yuki Matsubara (University of Southern Denmark)Abstract: A smooth complete intersection X of two quadrics in P^{n+2}  admits an interpretation as a moduli space of bundles.For n = 2, it parametrizes stable rank 2 parabolic bundles on P^1 with five marked points, while for n = 3 it parametrizes stable rank 2 bundles of odd degree with fixed determinant on a genus 2 curve. For general n, it can be interpreted as a moduli space of semistable twisted Spin-bundles. In my talk, I will discuss the topology of the very stable locus X \ W, where W is the wobbly locus, consisting of bundles that admit a nonzero nilpotent Higgs field. The importance of the very stable locus in the geometric Langlands correspondence was emphasized by Laumon. I will explain that W is an irreducible divisor for n >2 and how to compute H_1(X \ W, Z).Using a root stack description, we identify the fundamental group $\pi_1(X \ W)$ with the kernel of a monodromy homomorphism from an orbifold mixed braid group.The Reidemeister—Schreier method then yields an explicit presentation of this fundamental group in every dimension. This talk is based on joint work with S. Bhattacharya (https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.31421).

Climate Thursdays are a series of online lectures – free of charge.

Speaker: Benjamin Shackleton (​University of Southern Denmark).Abstract: In this pre-PhD work, completed with input from Professor Sir Simon Donaldson and Dr Daniel Platt, I prove the existence of a Ricci flat metric on the Kummer K3 surface. The proof follows the general strategy of Donaldson’s gluing construction. However, we tackle the analysis without appealing to weighted norms or conformal transformations to model spaces, instead relying solely on compact elliptic theory on usual Hölder and Sobolev spaces.The talk will coversetting up the problem and the computation of the estimates used.The paper can be found here: https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.02046.

Read more about the Department Council: https://sdunet.dk/en/enheder/institutter/imada/udvalg-og-moeder/institutraad

Speaker: Shing Tak Lam (​University of Warwick).Abstract: In complex geometry, a central theme is the relationship between algebro-geometric stability and the existence of canonical metrics. Examples of this include the Hitchin-Kobayashi correspondence for holomorphic vector bundles, and the Yau-Tian-Donaldson conjecture for varieties. In this talk, I will discuss a parabolic analogue of these results, relating the asymptotics of the associated geometric flows to algebro-geometric filtrations defined by Haiden-Katzarkov-Kontsevich-Pandit and Ibáñez Núñez.

The impact of AI-powered clinical assistants on clinical practice and healthcare experiencesAbout the ConferenceArtificial intelligence (AI)-based chatbots, automation tools, and patient-facing robots, powered by large language models (LLMs), are rapidly becoming integral to modern healthcare, both in the Danish healthcare system and globally.Clinicians increasingly use these technologies for information-seeking, documentation through ambient voice systems and digital scribes, clinical decision support, communication, and patient interaction. Patient-facing robots are emerging in hospitals, clinics, and home-care settings to assist with, e.g., rehabilitation, medication adherence, and emotional support. As these assistants begin to complement or replace tasks traditionally performed by humans, they transform both the delivery of care and the experience of providing and receiving it.National and international research projects are emerging, exploring these transformations, and new interdisciplinary networks are forming.The purpose of this conference is to bring together researchers and clinicians for knowledge-exchange, constructive dialogue and networking.Date12th of November 2026 - 10:00 to 17:30 followed by a conference reception.VenueUniversity of Southern Denmark, Odense Campus, DIAS auditorium.The conference is hosted and co-funded by the Danish Institute of Advanced Studies (DIAS), University of Southern Denmark (Research Unit of General Practice and Department of Business and Management) and Odense University Hospital.The cross-disciplinary research network Caring for People and Technologies at the University of Southern Denmark organizes the conference (Associate Professor Elisabeth Assing Hvidt, Professor Dorthe Brogård Kristensen, Assistant Professor Line Maria Simonsen, Post Doc Kathrine Rayce, Associate Professor Elena Shulzhenko and special consultant Henriette List).

Read more about the Teaching Committee: https://www.sdu.dk/da/om_sdu/institutter_centre/imada_matematik_og_datalogi/ledelse_administration/raad_naevn_udvalg/undervisningsudvalg

Casper Asbjørn Eriksen defends his PhD thesis at a public lecture: “Computational Methods for Molecular Structures: Biochemical Data Integration and Enumeration”.Professor Kim Skak Larsen will act as chairman at the defence.The PhD defence takes place in IMADA Conference Room (Ø18-509-2).All are welcome.

Esben Andreas Wrona Bay Sørensen defends his PhD thesis at a public lecture: “Data Science and Visualization Concerns in Interdisciplinary Research of Changes in the Arctic Ocean”.Associate Professor Tariq Yousef will act as chairman at the defence.The PhD defence takes place in U140 (Ø16-501-1).All are welcome.

Students develop a wide range of competences throughout their education, but they do not always recognise everything they become better at along the way.

Camilla Vang Østergaard defends his PhD thesis at a public lecture: “Methodological and Practical Considerations of Visual Digital Storytelling for the Heritage of Nazi Persecution”.Associate Professor Tariq Yousef will act as chairman at the defence.The PhD defence takes place in U140 (Ø16-501-1).All are welcome.

Professor Tore Rem, University of OsloAbout the eventTore Rem will present the work currently undertaken by the large interdisciplinary research initiative UiOemocracy (University of Oslo), which has been in existence since 2023. He will talk about why and how UiOemocracy came about, what the 12 research groups do, and how the initiative functions as a laboratory for interdisciplinarity. Rem will also share ways in which the initiative has led to new forms of engagement between research and society, and how it has created popular arenas for discussing the contemporary challenges of democracy.About the speakerTore Rem (b. 1967) is director of UiOemocracy and Professor of literatures in English at the University of Oslo. He has published extensively on British and Scandinavian 19th- and 20th-century literature, book history, world literature, and life writing, and is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.  The event is hosted by Anne Marie Mai

All staff at IMADA are invited to the Departmental Forum.Meeting notice and agenda will be sent by email.

Speaker: Sebastian Pögel (​University of Zurich).Abstract: TBA

Speaker: Apoorv Tiwari (​University of Southern Denmark).Abstract: Fault-tolerant quantum computation can incur a substantial resource cost when a desired logical operation must be constructed from a restricted set of logical primitives. To make such operations directly available, I will introduce irrep surface codes (ISCs), two-dimensional topological quantum error-correcting codes engineered to transversally implement a prescribed set of logical gates. The target logical gates only need to satisfy two conditions: (i) they generate a finite group, which, up to global phases, is forced by the Eastin-Knill theorem, and (ii) they are irreducible, meaning that any operator commuting with the set of gates must be proportional to the identity. This accommodates arbitrary finite groups of diagonal gates and arbitrary reversible classical gates, since each can be embedded into a larger irreducible finite group of gates. It also enables logical gates outside every finite level of the Clifford hierarchy. To incorporate these operations into surface-code computations, we further develop lattice-surgery protocols to transfer the encoded information between surface codes and ISCs obeying one of two sufficient conditions. Together, these results establish a systematic method for tailoring topological codes to desired logical operations and integrating them into conventional computations.

Meeting notice with time and agenda will be sent by email.

Rasmus Jensen defends his PhD thesis at a public lecture: “Geometric Interpolation on the Stiefel and Grassmann Manifolds”.Associate Professor Benjamin Jäger will act as chairman at the defence.The PhD defence takes place in U31 (V5-601-1).All are welcome.

Read more about the Teaching Committee: https://www.sdu.dk/da/om_sdu/institutter_centre/imada_matematik_og_datalogi/ledelse_administration/raad_naevn_udvalg/undervisningsudvalg

Speaker: Arim Song (​Friedrich-Alexander University Erlagen-Nürnberg).Abstract: $W$-algebras are families of vertex algebras associated with Lie algebras and their nilpotent elements. They can be viewed as chiral analogues of the Feigin-Frenkel center of the Lie algebra and exhibit rich structures, including Feigin–Frenkel duality and coset realizations. The $W_\infty$-algebra is a two-parameter family of vertex algebras whose quotients recover type A principal $W$-algebras. It provides a powerful framework for classifying vertex algebras with prescribed strong generating type and has led to the discovery of isomorphisms among various families of vertex algebras, including results that partially establish the celebrated triality conjecture of Gaiotto and Rapčák. The construction of $W$-algebras extends naturally to Lie superalgebras, giving rise to $W$-superalgebras. However, many questions concerning dualities among these algebras remain open. In recent joint work with Creutzig, Kovalchuk, Linshaw, and Suh, we extended the $W_\infty$-algebra framework to type A Lie superalgebras and established dualities for type A principal $W$-superalgebras. In this talk, I will introduce $W$-algebras and $W_\infty$-algebras, and discuss their structural properties. If time permits, I will briefly discuss the recent developments in the super setting.

All staff at IMADA are invited to the Departmental Forum.Meeting notice and agenda will be sent by email.

The future of food may be buried in the past Climate change is reshaping the conditions under which our food is grown. But long before the present crisis, ecosystems and species were already adapting to environmental disruption. On 16 December, DIAS Chair and internationally renowned DNA researcher Professor Eske Willerslev takes us into AEGIS: the ambitious new research initiative using ancient environmental DNA to understand how past ecosystems responded to change - and how those insights may help build more resilient crops and food systems for the future. Drawing on the project’s first research questions and findings, Willerslev will explore what sediments, genomes and deep environmental history can teach us about climate resilience, biodiversity and global food security. He will also reflect on the challenge of building a major new research centre across disciplines, methods and institutions. The event will be followed by a panel conversation with DIAS Chairs and an open discussion with the audience. About Eske Willerslev Professor Eske Willerslev is a world renowned evolutionary geneticist and pioneer in ancient DNA research. He is Director of the Centre for Ancient Environmental Genomics (CAEG) and leads the international AEGIS programme at the University of Copenhagen, while also serving as Professor at the University of Cambridge. His groundbreaking work has reshaped our understanding of human origins, past ecosystems, and how lessons from ancient DNA can help address future challenges related to climate, biodiversity, and food security. This event is organised by Sten Rynning, DIAS Director & Eske Willerslev, DIAS Chair *Registration: Please register here by 14 December 2026*

Meeting notice with time and agenda will be sent by email.