10 August 2026

Photo: Ron Donagi

We are delighted to welcome Professor Ron Y. Donagi from the University of Pennsylvania as a distinguished guest speaker at our university. He will be presenting during our SFB 1624 Summer School from August 24th until September 11th 2026.

A world-renowned expert in algebraic geometry, Professor Donagi earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University and has since spent decades shaping the frontier where theoretical mathematics meets high-energy physics. His work is renowned for bridging abstract geometric structures with the fundamental questions of quantum field theory, making him one of the most influential figures in his field.

Professor Donagi is internationally recognized for his pioneering contributions to applying algebraic geometry to string theory and related frameworks. His research has been instrumental in developing sophisticated models for string compactifications, which explain how higher-dimensional space-time can be mathematically understood in our four-dimensional world. Furthermore, his seminal work on F-theory, spectral covers, and supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories has provided theoretical physicists with essential mathematical tools to explore dualities and gauge symmetries on a subatomic level.

Of high interest for the mathematical research directions in our CRC is finally the research program on the geometric Langlands  correspondence initiated by Ron Donagi, linking algebra and the geometry of Hitchin's moduli spaces in novel ways.