Press release 2022/006 from

Mathematician Professor Alexey Bufetov from Leipzig University has been awarded a highly endowed European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant for his research. The professor of probability theory deals with so-called large random systems, which play a role in the natural sciences when analysing the behaviour of many small particles in a large collection (for example atoms or molecules). Bufetov combines such methods of statistical mechanics with other areas of mathematics such as algebra, analysis and combinatorics.

Bufetov took up his first professorship at Leipzig University in 2021. He received his doctorate in Moscow in 2015 and has already worked as an early career researcher at the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US and at the University of Bonn.

With its ERC Starting Grants, the European Union provides early career researchers with funding for five years at the beginning of their independent careers. Bufetov was selected from more than 4000 applicants, making him one of 397 scientists from all over Europe to now receive one of the coveted Starting Grants. He intends to use the funding, which is worth almost 1.5 million euros, to establish a research group at Leipzig University dedicated to the field of integrable probability, which will investigate the connections between probabilistic and algebraic properties of a variety of stochastic models.

The European Research Council’s (ERC) first call for proposals in the current funding period has ended. It specifically supports early career researchers at the beginning of their scientific career. The aim is to drive technological and social development in Europe. This round has been particularly successful for research in Saxony, with six winners of Starting Grants based in the Free State.

The Saxon Minister of Science Sebastian Gemkow offered his heartfelt congratulations to the successful applicants. “This selection impressively demonstrates the quality of cutting-edge research in Saxony. These are ideal conditions for future innovations and the further development of society as a whole. It is well worth participating in the European programme Horizon Europe and I strongly encourage more researchers to apply for European funding for their research projects.”