Jun.-Prof. Dr rer. nat. Matti Schneider studied Applied Mathematics at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg from 2004 - 2009 and graduated with honours. In 2009, he received a doctoral scholarship from the International Max Planck Research School at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences in Leipzig. After completing his doctorate at Leipzig University in 2013, he worked as a research assistant at Chemnitz University of Technology and the Fraunhofer ITWM Kaiserslautern. Since 2017, Matti Schneider has held the Junior Professorship for Computational Micromechanics at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.
You studied in Freiberg. What made you decide to study at the Bergakademie?
At a study information day, the then Dean of Faculty 1, Professor Mönch, took a lot of time for me after his presentation. That impressed me, especially because I was afraid of "getting lost in the crowd" at a large university.
What lasting memories do you associate with your time at TU Bergakademie Freiberg?
I don't come from a family of academics. Accordingly, the experience of studying was something very special, very privileged for me. Especially in the early days, I learnt so much and opened up a whole new "dimension" for myself. In retrospect, I still marvel today at the huge progress that was made in such a short time back then.
When you look back on your studies with the knowledge you have today: is there anything you would do differently or what you would pay attention to?
I was very unsure about the minor subject back then, as I had opted out of physics and chemistry in my A-levels. It wasn't until much later that I realised that these subjects had little in common with the boring school curriculum. In short: I would have chosen a nice engineering subject as a minor straight away!
What advice would you like to give current students in Freiberg?
Educate yourself outside of your degree programme, broaden your horizons. What do you find particularly interesting about your current job? I find it incredibly rewarding to work at the interface between mathematics and engineering. Professor Sonntag had already given me the following advice at the professors' coffee: "You have to learn the language of the users. It won't happen the other way round." I still benefit from this today and can thus import mathematical knowledge into practice and vice versa.
Do you still have professional or private contacts with TU Bergakademie Freiberg today?
Junior Professor Sprungk started studying a year after me and we are still in contact. I also know the solid mechanics professors Björn Kiefer and Bernhard Eidel at the Institute of Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics and am very happy to exchange ideas with them.
Finally, can you tell us your life motto?
Don't drink and derive!
Short and sweet:
My studies:
First lecture: 07:30 or 14:00? 07:30
Favourite meal in the canteen? Whatever was quickest
Freiberger beer or Saxon wine? Neither
Uni dress code: Jacket or sweatshirt? Check jumper
My university:
My "quiet place": I spent a lot of time in the library and discovered new knowledge. Back then, the scanned books were still limited.
My "I've never been there place": In the Lehrbergbwerk
My "no-go": analogue exam registration was a disaster back then.
My favourite lecturer: Wolfgang Sprößig
My hardest exam: Algorithmic geometry (was the last one, and only for "Schein")
