Challenges offer opportunities to adapt and 2020 has provided several significant tests. The Virtual HLF is a direct response to some of this year’s trials. Branded with the motto "Virtual HLF – Traversing Separation," the Forum took place from September 21 until September 25, 2020. A multifaceted scientific program was supplemented by various interactive elements designed to facilitate exchange between the participants.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. h. c. Andreas Reuter retires from his post as Scientific Chairperson of the HLFF, which he held since the Foundation was established in 2013. Prof. Dr. Anna Wienhard, a renowned professor of mathematics at Heidelberg University and a research group leader at the HITS will be his successor starting this October 1, 2020.
This year’s Hot Topic session revolved on "Digital Health," a theme that is both timely and has decisive ramifications, not only for science but also for society as a whole. A panel of experts from various specializations discussed its significance, plus the inherent advantages and vulnerabilities.
We bid farewell to Vaughan Jones who received the Fields Medal in 1990 for discovering an astonishing relationship between von Neumann algebras and geometric topology and finding a new polynomial invariant for knots and links in 3-space.
