Appointment of Prof. Patrick Mehlitz

On October 1, 2026, Patrick Mehlitz assumed the Chair of Applied Optimization at the Institute of Numerical Mathematics. His research focuses on the development of optimality conditions and solution algorithms for optimization problems involving non-smooth data, with an eye toward applications in the fields of data science, the control of differential equations, and machine learning. To this end, he constructs, investigates, and applies novel generalized differentiation concepts for non-differentiable mappings, which are particularly useful numerically in both theory and practice.

In recent years, Patrick Mehlitz held the Chair of Mathematical Optimization at Philipps University of Marburg. Other positions in his academic career included posts at the universities of Cottbus, Mannheim, and Duisburg-Essen.