Portrait: Bildarchiv des Mathematischen Forschungsinstituts Oberwolfach, 2026.
Biography
I am a Senior Research and Teaching Associate at the Institute of Scientific Computing at TUD Dresden University of Technology. I have worked at the Faculty of Mathematics since 2011 and have held a permanent full-time position since 2020. My research combines numerical analysis, finite-element methods, geometric PDEs, and scientific software. A main focus is the reliable approximation of PDEs on surfaces and of vector- and tensor-valued fields.
Since 2023, I have been a principal investigator in the DFG Research Unit Vector- and Tensor-Valued Surface PDEs. I am also a core developer of Dune and AMDiS. My teaching ranges from basic programming for mathematics students to master’s courses in numerical analysis and scientific computing.
Positions
Senior Research and Teaching Associate (Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter)
Institute of Scientific Computing, Faculty of Mathematics, TUD Dresden University of Technology
2011 to present, permanent full-time position since September 2020
Principal investigator, DFG Research Unit 3013
Subproject TP06, Symmetry, length, and tangential constraints
2023 to 2026, joint project with Hanne Hardering
The collaborating subprojects jointly fund a doctoral researcher for 36 months. My duties include scientific direction, the hiring process, budget planning, reporting, and joint supervision of the doctoral researcher.
Principal investigator, CNMS Rapid Access project
Modeling charged polymers near interfaces with AMDiS
January to June 2019, Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Education
Dr. rer. nat. in Mathematics
Technische Universität Dresden, 2011 to 2015
Dissertation: Efficient Solvers for the Phase-Field Crystal Equation: Development and Analysis of a Block-Preconditioner
Advisor: Axel Voigt
Diploma in Mathematics
Technische Universität Dresden, 2005 to 2011
Diploma thesis: Interacting Particles in Flowing Solvents: Modeling, Numerics and High-Performance Computing
Advisor: Axel Voigt
Awards
Teaching Award of the Faculty of Mathematics, 2020
Awarded in the category Nachwuchsvorlesung for Scientific Programming: Advanced Concepts
George Helm Prize, 2016
Awarded for an excellent doctoral thesis
Academic service
- Reviewer since 2016 for journals including SIAM Journal on Numerical Analysis, SIAM Journal on Scientific Computing, Mathematics of Computation, IMA Journal of Numerical Analysis, and Physical Review Letters
- Co-organizer of the 2023 international workshop of DFG Research Unit 3013 and an ENUMATH 2023 minisymposium
- Co-organizer of Dune user and developer meetings, including meetings in 2021, 2023, and 2026
- Organizer of the Institute Seminar since 2018 and the Seminar in Applied Mathematics from 2020 to 2024
- Deputy and acting Equal Opportunity Officer at the Faculty of Mathematics from 2022 to 2024
- Member of faculty and institute committees, including the institute teaching planning committee
- IT administrator at the institute and maintainer of its scientific software stack
Contact
Institute of Scientific Computing
Faculty of Mathematics
TUD Dresden University of Technology
Dresden, Germany
simon.praetorius@tu-dresden.de
