The professorship for discrete structures will be filled by Prof. Dr Johannes Carmesin from 1 April. He previously headed Europe's largest combinatorics group in Birmingham (UK) and was a Research Fellow at Cambridge. He investigates a wide range of topics in discrete mathematics and related fields such as topology and theoretical computer science. He was awarded the European Prize for Combinatorics in 2023 for his fundamental contributions to the field of three-dimensional combinatorics.

"After the proof of the Poincare conjecture by Perelman (the only solved question of the known Millennium Problems), the question of whether there is an algorithmic proof of this theorem is a major long-term goal of three-dimensional combinatorics. The completion of this mathematical theory, which will certainly take several decades, has the potential to revolutionise computer-aided design," says the newly appointed professor.

In teaching, the mathematician focuses on research-intensive learning: "This includes incorporating research topics into teaching and really understanding mathematical proofs. I don't just want to teach why a proof works, but also how students can find them. When I have implemented it correctly, I can recognise it by the fact that students answer questions in the lecture, actively think along and (intentionally or unintentionally) find built-in gaps in the proofs."

Also on 1 April, Dr Ronny Hauck was appointed to the Chair of Civil Law, in particular Innovation and Technology Law. In his research, he deals with the protection and utilisation of technical innovations and other intangible assets such as research data. He also researches the legal framework for the use of technology. Before taking up the professorship at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Prof Hauck researched and taught at the Technical University of Munich, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and the Humboldt University of Berlin, among others.

"Intangible assets are among the most important assets of a company. They serve to protect and commercialise new products and are essential in the development of technical innovations," says the lawyer. "Patent protection and the protection of trade secrets (know-how) play a central role here. The legal protection and exploitation of innovations also has a sustainable effect for companies that should not be underestimated, as it allows investments made to be amortised and the unwanted outflow of technical information to be avoided. The possibilities for developing innovative products have increased exponentially in recent times, particularly as a result of advancing digitalisation and the increasing use of autonomous systems, which automatically raises questions about the respective legal framework conditions and, above all, the legal limits."

The close relationship between technology and law will also be reflected in the courses offered by Prof. Hauck in the future. Ronny Hauck's future courses at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg, which are designed to awaken students' interest in dealing with the legal challenges posed by entrepreneurial decisions and the development of new technologies at an early stage, primarily through an interdisciplinary approach with a strong practical focus.