Henk Broer > DSMP > MATHS > JBI > FWN > RUG

Henk W. Broer

Professional Status and Honours

Research

My research lies in the field of dynamical systems, a discipline founded mid twentieth century as a geometric version of the theory of ordinary differential equations and iterated maps, following the ideas of Henri Poincaré. Founding fathers were on the one hand people like Andrey N. Kolmogorov, Jürgen Moser and on the other hand René Thom, E. Christopher Zeeman and Steve Smale, to name a few. The second generation of founding fathers consisted of people like Jacob Palis, John N. Mather, Floris Takens, Robert Roussarie, Vladimir I. Arnold, James A. Yorke and many others. Being a student of Takens, I belong so to speak to the third generation. All of us contribute to fundamental aspects of the discipline.

My work is divided over several, partially overlapping themes, described to more detail here. The themes are

where each theme is concluded by a selected list of publications.

Teaching

Apart from research I am enjoying teaching a lot. Apart from basic mathematics my teaching on the one hand consists mostly of advanced calculus, differential geometry and Hamiltonian mechanics and on the other hand on dynamical systems and chaos. Both themes stretch over the batchelor and graduate level and attracted quiet a few of my PhD students. See here for more detailed information:

One of the things I also love to do is popularisation of mathematics and physics in both lectures and articles. See here for more information. Also on the page Selected Publications further information can be found.

Administration

I have participated quite a lot in administration. In my own university I have performed duties like the scientific directorship Mathematics and Computer Science for several years. At a national level I served in and chaired several boards. The first concerns the chamber of the VSNU (union of Dutch universities) at the beginning of this century where I contributed to the founding of PWN (platform of Dutch mathematics), an organ that for the first time speaks with the government and NWO (the Dutch NSO) with one mouth. The second concerns the chairmanship of the Dutch Mathematical Society which in 2008 was the guest organisation for the International European Congress of Mathematicians. One of the follow up things was handing out the prestigious Brouwer medal in 2014 to John Mather, who held the corresponding lecture. Also I have been a member of two governmental committees for restructuring the curriculum of secondary school education. From the start of this century during more than a decade I was a member of the Organizing Committee of the Lorentz Center (Leiden University), where I initiated several mathematical workshops. My last administrative job amounted to the chairmanship of the KNAW section Mathematics. Details can be found in my Résume.

Personal interest