Jan S. Hesthaven Named New President of KIT, Aims to Elevate Global Research and Partnerships

Jan S. Hesthaven Named New President of KIT, Aims to Elevate Global Research and Partnerships

(IN BRIEF) Professor Jan S. Hesthaven has been appointed as the new President of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), effective October 1, 2024. With a focus on furthering the integration of research, academic education, and societal engagement, Hesthaven aims to enhance KIT’s international presence. He emphasizes the importance of strong partnerships and collaboration, particularly in addressing challenges linked to artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies. His leadership comes as KIT prepares for upcoming evaluations related to research excellence and funding. Hesthaven succeeds Professor Holger Hanselka, who moved to Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in 2023, and is expected to lead the institute into a new phase of growth and innovation.

(PRESS RELEASE) KARLSRUHE, 26-Sep-2024 — /EuropaWire/ — Effective October 1, 2024, Professor Jan S. Hesthaven will take up the role of President at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). His appointment marks a significant step toward positioning KIT more clearly within the global scientific community. Hesthaven’s main goals include strengthening the integration of research, academic education, and societal engagement, while expanding international partnerships and fostering global talent.

Hesthaven brings over two decades of experience in the energy sector, notably in nuclear power, and has been recognized for his leadership in Swedish nuclear companies. He aims to leverage this expertise at KIT, emphasizing the need for the institution to collaborate with strong, complementary partners in Germany and internationally. As part of the Helmholtz Association, Hesthaven sees KIT playing a central role in advancing high-risk research, with a focus on artificial intelligence and complex simulations.

Baden-Württemberg’s Minister for Science, Petra Olschowski, along with KIT’s Supervisory Board Chair, Michael Kaschke, expressed confidence in Hesthaven’s leadership and his ability to enhance KIT’s global presence. Hesthaven succeeds Professor Holger Hanselka and will be working closely with KIT’s Executive Board to tackle upcoming challenges, including securing funding for new research initiatives.

About the Person

Professor Jan S. Hesthaven, born in 1965, has been Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne) since 2021. His scope of responsibility included strong integration of research and academic education, all appointment and promotion procedures, as well as close cooperation with the President of EPFL on the university’s strategic orientation. Since 2013, Hesthaven had been Professor of Mathematics of EPFL. Before, in 1995, he was a faculty member at Brown University, one of the oldest and most renowned universities in the USA, where he was Founding Director of the Center for Computation and Visualization (2006 to 2013) and co-founder of the Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics. Hesthaven studied Computational Physics and earned his doctorate at the Technical University of Denmark in Copenhagen. Hesthaven is Fellow of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, the American Mathematical Society, and the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics. He also is member of the European Academy of Sciences and Academia Europaea. In May 2024, the Technical University of Denmark awarded Hesthaven an honorary doctorate.

More Information:

“I Believe much more in Collaboration than in Competition” – Interview with Professor Jan S. Hesthaven in the research magazine lookKIT

KIT Press Release “Supervisory Board Elects Jan S. Hesthaven President of KIT“ (January 23, 2024)

KIT Release “KIT Senate Confirms Election of Jan S. Hesthaven“ (February 19, 2024)

Being “The Research University in the Helmholtz Association”, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 10,000 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 22,800 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence.

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SOURCE: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)