New DFG Priority Programme on Combinatorial Synergies Issues First Call for Proposals

3-year grants offered for interdisciplinary research projects that address combinatorial synergies in themes ranging from fundamental mathematics research to its practical application.

In March 2023, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG – German Research Foundation) established the Priority Programme ‘Combinatorial Synergies‘. (SPP 2458). The programme is designed to run for six years and comprises two funding periods of three years each.

The Priority Programme is designed to establish a combinatorics network in Germany that aims to guide the fundamental transformation of mathematical research brought about by the availability of complex mathematical observations in the interplay of data and structure.

The thematic focus of the Priority Programme is on combinatorial synergies in themes ranging from fundamental mathematics to their practical application. This includes the following themes:

  • Enumeration.
  • Dynkin classification.
  • Commutative algebra.
  • Matroids.
  • Convexity.
  • Lattice points.
  • Statistics.
  • Non-linear optimisation.
  • Mathematical physics.

Important impulses are expected to evolve from innovative developments within the main themes and their interconnections. Possible synergies include:

  • Weyl groups.
  • Face vectors.
  • Kähler packages.
  • Combinatorial polytopes.
  • Amplituhedra.
  • Combinatorial commutative algebra.
  • Ehrhart theory.
  • Lorentzian polynomials.
  • Coxeter-Catalan structures.
  • Hyperplane arrangements.
  • E8-lattice.
  • Positroids.

An overarching goal of the programme is to establish new connections between the programme’s themes. A particular focus is on the use of discrete data, for example involving databases and the use of machine learning techniques, sustainable knowledge (infra)structures within the network and the dissemination of the FAIR principles.

Eligible to apply are researchers who work in Germany, or at a German research institution abroad, and who have completed their academic training (usually with a doctorate). In justified cases, the participation of researchers based outside Germany is also possible.

Funding is available for a period of three years and covers project-related costs such as personnel, materials and instrumentation.

The deadline for the submission of project proposals is 25 September 2023.

A thematic workshop and round table discussion concerning the topics of the Priority Programme is scheduled to take place in Magdeburg on 28-29 June 2023. Travel and accommodation for participants is supported by the DFG. Details on the event are available via the Priority Programme website.