Jasper de Jong is a finalist in the Teacher of the Year Award (TOTYA) Placed on 2 May 2025

During the Education Week at the UT, the TOTYA will take place. During this event, one lecturer will be awarded with the title of Teacher of the Year and this year our very own Jasper de Jong has been elected to be one of the finalists! The event will take place on May 22 at 14:00-17:00 in Amphiteather, Vrijhof.

After winning the AMEP, the jury selecting finalists for the TOTYA agreed that Jasper's motivation letter and teaching methods stood out as one of the best.

Come support him during this event as it may help his chances of winning! 

Since catering will be offered, we ask that you enrol for this event. You can enrol here: UT Education Week (TOTYA)

Johannes Schmidt-Hieber awarded prestigious Van Dantzig Prize Placed on 25 March 2025

Every five years, the VVSOR (Netherlands Society for Statistics and Operations Research) awards the Van Dantzig Prize to a researcher under 40 years old who has made significant advancements in the field. The 2025 edition awarded the prize to Johannes Schmidt-Hieber for his pioneering work in statistical learning theory, nonparametric statistics, and the mathematical foundations of deep learning. His research has provided critical insights into how neural networks function, offering a more rigorous understanding of artificial intelligence.

Named after David van Dantzig, one of the founding figures of Dutch statistics and operations research, the Van Dantzig Prize is a symbol of excellence in the field and is, in fact, the highest prize attainable in Dutch statistics and operations research.

With his contributions to mathematical statistics, Johannes has shown that statistical thinking can provide the theoretical underpinnings of new methods such as machine learning and data analytics. His research is building the theoretical foundations for commonly used algorithms. Despite the very technical nature of his research, Johannes holds a keen interest in the applicability of his work. This is one reason behind the fact that one of his papers, published in 2020, has already accumulated over 1,000 citations, a very exceptional achievement for papers from the field of mathematical statistics.

We congratulate Johannes with this incredible achievement!

AMEP winner 2025 Placed on 24 March 2025

On Thursday 13 March, the three nominees for the Applied Mathematics Education Prize (AMEP), Gjerrit Meinsma, Felix Schwenninger and Jasper de Jong, all gave a talk on the theme 'Cultural Mathematics'.

Gjerrit Meinsma linked playing the piano to mathematics through the use of signals, showcasing how modern pianos are out of tune when tuned.

Felix Schwenninger linked theoretical mathematics to culture within mathematics, highlighting fallacies in how certain topics are presented to be building upon one another while never explaining the basis.

Jasper de Jong used mathematics to link strategies to win the 2022 gaming classic Among Us to the culture of studying.

With a very tight vote, if anything indication of just how appreciated all three finalists are among students, Jasper de Jong has been voted winner of the AMEP 2025!

We thank all three finalists for their participation and for their wonderful talks, but, most importantly, we thank them for their efforts in educating the next generation of mathematicians here at the UT.