New at UDE: Wietse M. Boon
Mathematically predicting complex processes
- von Dr. Alexandra Nießen
- 13.10.2026
How do liquids make their way through the rock and soil beneath us? Where do these liquids end up after several years? And how does the earth deform because of these flows? This is not only of interest to physics and engineering. At the Faculty of Mathematics, the newly appointed Dr Wietse M. Boon aims to find out how such problems can be solved using computer algorithms. He is the new Assistant Professor of Applied Mathematics at the University of Duisburg-Essen.
[Dr Alexandra Niessen:] How would you explain your research to non-mathematicians?
[Assistant Professor Dr Wietse M. Boon:] My research focuses on making accurate predictions about fluid flows and deformations in porous media. These include materials that contain numerous voids or pores through which air, water or other fluids can flow. Examples include sand or gravel, but fluids also move through and are stored in biological materials like organs and tissues.
My team and I try to find mathematical equations that describe these systems, analyse them, and then develop efficient computer algorithms to achieve an accurate prediction.
What fascinates you personally about this topic?
The most fascinating aspect for me is the fact that the same equations can be used to model completely different things. For example, I have used them to model the underground storage of CO2. In doing so, we are trying to predict how the CO2 will be trapped after injection.
Similar equations can also be used to simulate fluid flows in biology, for example to model Alzheimer’s disease in the human brain.
What specific research would you like to carry out at the UDE in the coming years?
There are many unanswered questions in this field. I would like to set up a research team and, together with my colleagues at the UDE, investigate the underlying mathematical structures of these porous media models. With these findings, we could make a real difference to applications in engineering and biophysics.
More information:
Prof. Dr Wietse M. Boon, Applied Mathematics, in particular Numerical Mathematics and Scientific Computing, phone. +49 (0)201/18-33178, wietse.boon@uni-due.de
Editor: Dr Alexandra Niessen, alexandra.niessen@uni-due.de
Short Biography: Wietse M. Boon
Professional Career
- Since March 2026: Assistant Professor of Applied Mathematics, UDE
- April 2024 to December 2025: Senior Researcher, NORCE Research (Norway)
- January 2022 to January 2024: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship, Politecnico di Milano (IT), Department of Mathematics (Italy)
- October 2019 to October 2021: Dahlquist Research Fellow, KTH Royal Institute of Technology (SE), Department of Mathematics (Sweden)
- April 2018 to July 2019: Postdoctoral researcher, University of Stuttgart, Institute for Water and Environmental Systems Modelling Academic
Education:
- 2018: PhD, University of Bergen (Netherlands)
- June 2014: Master of Science in Applied Mathematics, Delft University of Technology (Netherlands)