mathematics

Ulrich Kohlenbach

Ulrich Kohlenbach is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Ulrich Kohlenbach rather than just read about it. In short: Ulrich Wilhelm Kohlenbach (born 27 July 1962 in Frankfurt am Main) is a German mathematician and professor of algebra and logic at the Technische Universität Darmstadt. His research interests lie in the field of proof mining.

Key takeaways

Ulrich Kohlenbach belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Ulrich Kohlenbach to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Ulrich Kohlenbach from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Ulrich Wilhelm Kohlenbach (born 27 July 1962 in Frankfurt am Main) is a German mathematician and professor of algebra and logic at the Technische Universität Darmstadt. His research interests lie in the field of proof mining. Kohlenbach was president of the German Association for Mathematical Logic and for Basic Research in the Exact Sciences (DVMLG) from 2008 to 2012 and president of the Association for Symbolic Logic from 2016 to 2018.

Life He graduated ('Abitur') from Lessing-Gymnasium (High School) in 1980 and completed his studies of mathematics, philosophy, and linguistics with a diplom from the Goethe University Frankfurt. During his studies he received a scholarship from the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes. At the same university, he received his Ph.D. in 1990 under the supervision of Horst Luckhardt and passed his habilitation ('venia legendi') in mathematics five years later. During the academic year 1996/1997 he was a visiting assistant professor at the University of Michigan. In 1997, he became an associate professor at Aarhus University where he worked until 2004. Kohlenbach is now a full professor at the Technische Universität Darmstadt. He is married to Gabriele Bahl-Kohlenbach with whom he has a daughter. In 2011, he received the prestigious Kurt Gödel Research Prize of the Kurt Gödel Society. He was an invited speaker at the 2018 International Congress of Mathematicians in Rio de Janeiro. In 2024, he was selected as the first ringbearer of the Ernst Zermelo Ring.

References

External links Ulrich Kohlenbach's official website at Technische Universität Darmstadt

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ulrich Kohlenbach

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ulrich Kohlenbach claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ulrich Kohlenbach before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ulrich Kohlenbach ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ulrich Kohlenbach

In research: Ulrich Kohlenbach appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Ulrich Kohlenbach in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Ulrich Kohlenbach is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1962 births, 20th-century German mathematicians, 21st-century German mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ulrich Kohlenbach outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Ulrich Kohlenbach” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Ulrich Kohlenbach in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Ulrich Kohlenbach means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Ulrich Kohlenbach out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ulrich Kohlenbach in simple terms?

Why does Ulrich Kohlenbach matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ulrich Kohlenbach?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ulrich Kohlenbach.