Artificial neural networks are currently the driving force of artificial intelligence (AI). Methods based on such deep neural networks are producing impressive results in a wide range of real-world applications, such as autonomic driving, game intelligence and the health sector.

The research questions being pursued within the Priority Program (SPP) are highly interdisciplinary. Coordinator is Professor Dr. Gitta Kutyniok, head of the Applied Functional Analysis research group at TU Berlin, Einstein Professor at the Einstein Foundation in Berlin, and MATH+ member.

A small number of research groups in Germany have already achieved international recognition for their contributions to the theory of deep neural networks. In Berlin, these include the research groups led by Professor Dr. Kutyniok and Professor Dr. Sebastian Pokutta in mathematics, as well as the Machine Learning Group led by Professor Dr. Klaus-Robert Müller in the area of computer science. A wide range of projects on this topic are currently also being researched within the MATH+ Cluster of Excellence, most notably the MATH+ Activity Group “Mathematics of Data Science”, which was set up by Professor Kutyniok and who is also the group’s spokesperson.

On the mathematical side, research requires methods from the whole spectrum of mathematics, including algebraic geometry, approximation theory, functional analysis, numerical linear algebra and optimal control and optimization. Equally important, however, are statistics and theoretical computer science. Researchers working on theoretical aspects of neural networks in other disciplines, such as physics or biology, are also invited to take part in the program.

The coordination team also includes Professor Dr. Martin Burger (Friedrich-Alexander Universität Nürnberg-Erlangen), Professor Dr. Matthias Hein (University of Tübingen), Professor Dr. Sebastian Pokutta (TU Berlin and Zuse Institut Berlin (ZIB) and Professor Dr. Ingo Steinwart (University of Stuttgart).

Read more (Press release for two approved DFG-SPP in mathematics and electrical engineering by TU Berlin, in German)