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Alexander von Humboldt Professorship 2027

Shahar Mendelson

Shahar Mendelson is a distinguished mathematician who has been breaking ground in data science and the mathematics of machine learning for the last 30 years. LMU Munich intends his appointment to enhance its profile as a world-leading centre for the mathematics of data science and AI research.

  • Nominating university: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich
Portrait von Shahar Mendelson
Saturn-ähnliches Dekortationsbild

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Mathematics

Shahar Mendelson’s scientific masterstroke lies in combining theoretical methods from geometry, probability theory and functional analysis in such a way that key problems in statistical learning theory and data science can be solved in new ways. Relevant applications inform methods of machine learning and solving high-dimensional statistical problems, such as in signal and image processing. 

Medical imaging using an MRI is a good example.  For patients, a short stay in the machine is desirable, but the machine is supposed to generate a high-resolution image. These two requirements are only compatible if the MRI image can be produced with a low number of measurements. Thanks to sophisticated mathematical methods, the necessary number of measurements can be reduced drastically: compressed sensing – an area in which Mendelson has made crucial contributions – is used by all major manufacturers of MRI equipment and has led to significant improvements in MRI imaging. Data science assumes that fewer measurements provide sufficient information if the data collected is used wisely. Mathematics helps to reveal precisely how useful information can be extracted from the data. 

At LMU Munich, Mendelson is invited to assume a Humboldt Professorship for the mathematical principles of data science. His profile in theoretical mathematics is expected to fill an important research gap and establish connections between the three fields represented in the Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Statistics at the same time.

Brief bio

Shahar Mendelson became a professor at Texas A&M University in College Station, United States, in late 2025. In the previous five years, he held a professorship in the Centre for Mathematics and its Applications at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. Other research stays took him to Warwick, United Kingdom, as well as Vienna, Zurich and Paris. He completed his doctorate at the Technion in Haifa, Israel, in 1998. Amongst others, he has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant (2007) and is a member of the Australian Academy of Science.

Shahar Mendelson has been selected for a Humboldt Professorship and is currently conducting appointment negotiations with the German university that nominated him for the award. If the negotiations end successfully, the award will be granted in 2027.