New SDU professor draws in two starting grants
World class researcher from UC Berkeley, Vivek Shende joins the Centre for Quantum Mathematics, IMADA, with two major grants. Shende is awarded a prestigious DNRF Chair grant from the Danish National Research Foundation and a Start Package Grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation.
Attracted to SDU
Professor Shende was in the fall of 2020 attracted to Denmark from a tenure track position at University of California Berkeley, USA. He obtained his PhD degree from Princeton in 2011 and has already as a younger researcher achieved a publication record most mathematicians would not achieve during their whole career. Professor Shende study the mathematical aspects of string theory, a subject with many interfaces across mathematics and with applications intersecting into physics, biology and medicine.
”We are very excited that Vivek Shende is awarded these prominent grants. He is a fantastic researcher – a true world star, and I am really happy to have attracted Vivek to the Centre for Quantum Mathematics at SDU where we are building an elite research environment in quantum mathematics”, says Professor and QM Centre Director Jørgen Ellegaard Andersen.
The grants
Both the DNRF Chair and the Novo Start Package are new initiatives started in 2020 by the Danish National Research Foundation and the Novo Nordisk Foundation respectively and Vivek Shende is the first recipient of either one at the University of Southern Denmark.
The DNRF grant is for a 3-year period and includes a DKK 8 million grant and the Novo grant is for a 4-year period and includes a DKK 6 million grant. Further the Novo project is partly in collaboration with QM Centre Director, Jørgen Ellegaard Andersen.
“These new starting grant initiatives from Novo and DNRF are an essential help in attracting worldclass international capacities to Denmark, just like Professor Vivek Shende, whom will for sure strengthen Danish research”, states Head of IMADA, Martin Svensson.
