Professor Michael Sørensen new Head of Department
Michael Sørensen will 1 August 2016 take over as Head of the Department of Mathematical Sciences, where he has been a professor of mathematical statistics since 1997. For almost 10 years he has been Deputy Head of Research.
The Dean has decided to hire Michael Sørensen as Head of Department at MATH on the recommendation of representatives appointed by the Academic Council and the MATH Collaboration Committee plus Associate Dean Erik Bisgaard Madsen, head of department at DIKU Mads Nielsen and CFO Anders Damgaard from PFA.
Michael Sørensen studied at Aarhus University and the University of Cambridge. He has previously been employed at Aarhus University and for shorter periods at the Humboldt University in Berlin, University of Chicago and the University of Osaka.
Michael Sørensens main research area is statistical methods for stochastic processes, that is for phenomena that develop over time. In particular he has developed methods for the analysis of financial markets. He has broad research interests that range from fundamental theoretical investigations to applied mathematics. He is for example known among sand researchers worldwide for his contributions to the physics of blown sand.
In recent years the focus has been on computer intensive methods and statistical problems in biology, including methods for studying how protein folding.
Michael Sørensen is a frequent lecturer at universities abroad and has collaborators in many countries. He has coordinated an EU research network and has been chairman of the European regional committee of the Bernoulli Society, the international association for statistics and probability theory.
Michael Sørensen has been a member of the editorial board of several international scientific journals and is chairman of the board of the Scandinavian Journal of Statistics. He is a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters and of Committee for Responsible Conduct of Research at the University of Copenhagen.
Despite his many activities in Denmark and abroad, Michael Sørensen has prioritized his teaching and is known as an inspiring lecturer and academic advisor. In his spare time he is a frequent guest at jazz concerts and at opera and ballet performances. He enjoys spending holidays with his wife on mountain hiking around the world.