Robert Burklund receives memorial scholarship
On Monday 7 October, the Society for the Dissemination of Natural Science (SNU) will present the prestigious Kirstine Meyer Memorial Scholarship to Associate Professor Robert Burklund from the Department of Mathematical Sciences.
Previous scholarship recipients include 2022 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Morten Meldal, climate scientist Merete Bilde, astrophysicist Anja C. Andersen, ice core researcher Dorthe Dahl-Jensen and 1975 Nobel Laureate Aage Bohr.
The ceremony will take place at a Kirstine Meyer evening in the Round Tower (Rundetaarn), where you can see the exhibition "From Scientist to People", which has a special Kirstine Meyer section. You will also hear a lecture by Denmark's newest Nobel Laureate, Morten Meldal, and attend the presentation of the H.C. Ørsted Medal in bronze to one of the main forces behind the exhibition, director, PhD Gregers Mogensen.
Homotopy theory
Robert Burklund will talk about his research in geometry under the headline "How many high-dimensional spaces are there?".
Burklund is researching homotopy theory, i.e. how to understand algebraic and geometric objects by examining how they behave under deformation. Any system that appears in the sciences, which can be described by equations, can be seen as a geometric object where many properties are found to be unchanged under deformation. Homotopy theory thus provides a method for classifying a wide range of systems that allows a mathematical description, whether the system itself comes from chemistry, biology, economics, or something else entirely. Robert Burklund is a young star in this field, writes SNU in their press release.
Burklund received his PhD from MIT in 2022, and after two years as a National Science Foundation postdoc in Copenhagen, he was appointed associate professor in 2024. He has already produced several major research breakthroughs that have appeared in top mathematics journals such as Annals of Mathematics and Acta Mathematica.
Kirstine Meyer's Memorial Scholarship
Kirstine Meyer received the Gold Medal of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters in 1899 and became Denmark's first female Dr. Phil. in physics in 1909. Throughout her life, she was involved in school legislation and had a decisive influence on the design of chemistry and physics teaching in upper secondary schools.
The Kirstine Meyer Memorial Scholarship was founded in 1942 by a group of colleagues. Among the founders was her fellow student Hanna Adler, who together with Kirstine Meyer in 1892 were the first women in Denmark to become master’s in physics. Niels Bohr signed the statutes on behalf of the Society for the Dissemination of Natural Science.
Read more about Kirstine Meyer and see previous grant recipients here