mathematics

Wolfgang Hackbusch

Wolfgang Hackbusch 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 Wolfgang Hackbusch rather than just read about it. In short: Wolfgang Hackbusch (born 24 October 1948 in Westerstede, Lower Saxony) is a German mathematician, known for his pioneering research in multigrid methods and later hierarchical matrices, a concept generalizing the fast multipole method. He was a professor at the University of Kiel and is currently one of the directors of the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences in Leipzig.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Wolfgang Hackbusch (born 24 October 1948 in Westerstede, Lower Saxony) is a German mathematician, known for his pioneering research in multigrid methods and later hierarchical matrices, a concept generalizing the fast multipole method. He was a professor at the University of Kiel and is currently one of the directors of the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences in Leipzig.

Awards and honors 1994 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize 1996 Brouwer Medal 1998 Plenary Speaker of the International Congress of Mathematicians 2020 Gumin Prize for Mathematics

Publications Multi-grid methods and applications, 1985, Springer Berlin, ISBN 3-540-12761-5; 2013 pbk reprint Elliptic Differential Equations: Theory and Numerical Treatment, 1992, Springer Berlin, ISBN 978-3-540-54822-5 Iterative Solution of Large Sparse Systems of Equations, 1993, Springer Berlin, ISBN 978-0-387-94064-9 Integral Equations: Theory and Numerical Treatment, 1995, Birkhäuser, ISBN 978-3-7643-2871-9 Hierarchische Matrizen: Algorithmen und Analysis, 2009, Springer Berlin, ISBN 978-3-642-00221-2 Tensor spaces and numerical tensor calculus, 2012, Springer, Heidelberg ISBN 978-3-642-28026-9 ISBN 978-3-642-28027-6 The Concept of Stability in Numerical Mathematics, 2014, Springer, Leipzig ISBN 978-3-642-39385-3

References

Stefan Sauter and Gabriel Wittum, On the occasion of the 60th birthday of Wolfgang Hackbusch, Computing and Visualization in Science 11(2008) 191 DOI 10.1007/s00791-008-0123-z

External links Wolfgang Hackbusch at the Mathematics Genealogy Project

Wolfgang Hackbusch at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences in Leipzig

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wolfgang Hackbusch

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wolfgang Hackbusch 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 Wolfgang Hackbusch 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 Wolfgang Hackbusch 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 Wolfgang Hackbusch

In research: Wolfgang Hackbusch 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 Wolfgang Hackbusch 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: Wolfgang Hackbusch is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1948 births, 20th-century German mathematicians, 21st-century German mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wolfgang Hackbusch 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.

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How to study Wolfgang Hackbusch in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Wolfgang Hackbusch 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 Wolfgang Hackbusch out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Wolfgang Hackbusch in simple terms?

Why does Wolfgang Hackbusch 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 Wolfgang Hackbusch?

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 Wolfgang Hackbusch.