This year, the jury was presented with an exceptionally strong selection of master’s theses. Many submitted works were of outstanding scientific quality, demonstrating methodological depth and a high level of relevance to applied mathematics.
The theses reflected the remarkable breadth of modern applied mathematics, ranging from classical industrial mathematics, mathematical modelling, numerical analysis, and direct and inverse problems to deterministic and stochastic approaches, as well as modern methods from artificial intelligence and machine learning. All projects addressed challenging and nontrivial problems.
In reaching its final decision, the jury had to take into account the statutes of the prize, which explicitly require the work to be connected to an industrial project. This criterion played an important role in the evaluation process.
The winner of the Wacker prize is
Jad Mounayer, St. Annes College, University of Oxford
NCDEs – A state-of-the-art prediction model over irregular time series
The thesis was selected as the prize winner due to its outstanding combination of academic excellence and industrial relevance. The work addressed a significant real-world problem in close collaboration with a strong industry partner, demonstrating both practical impact and scientific rigor. The thesis also presents original results, and it successfully combined theoretical depth with clear applicability, making it an exceptional contribution to the field.
The jury warmly congratulates with the winner and with all participants on their excellent achievements.