The son of a miner, Bernhard Korte grew up in a pit village in Bottrop. He studied mathematics, physics and chemistry at the University of Bonn between 1959 and 1967, obtaining his doctorate there in 1967 and his Habilitation in 1971. After holding professorships in Regensburg and Bielefeld, he returned to his alma mater, founding the Research Institute of Discrete Mathematics in 1987. He would go on to serve as its director right up until his death.
Algorithms for chip development
Professor Korte’s research, especially in the field of combinatorial optimization, gained global recognition. Together with his team, he devised methods and algorithms for designing world-leading chips and microprocessors that are highly complex. It is thanks to his work that his institute continues to play a key role in cooperation with industry, e.g. with IBM in the field of chip development. More than 3,000 highly complex microprocessors have already been developed with the aid of his “BonnTools,” and there are hardly any chips inside modern electronic devices that do not contain some degree of expertise from Bonn.
With the Arithmeum, the museum with the world’s most comprehensive collection of historical calculating machines, Professor Korte built a memorial to something else that was dear to his heart—the links between science, engineering and aesthetics. To this day, the museum that he founded and designed remains a lively place where the history of mathematics meets modern science education and art.
Korte was the author of several fundamental textbooks and a member of some prestigious academies, including the Leopoldina, the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts, and acatech – National Academy of Science and Engineering. He also had numerous honors bestowed on him, including the Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the State Award of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Italian order of merit “Grande Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana,” the Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia, and the Lifetime Achievement Award, part of the North Rhine-Westphalia Innovation Awards.
“A tireless builder of bridges”
“Bernhard Korte was an exceptional researcher, an impassioned university professor, a visionary founder and a tireless builder of bridges between mathematics, computer science, industry and the general public,” said Rector Professor Michael Hoch, paying tribute to the recently departed mathematician. “He inspired generations of students and early-career researchers with his specialist expertise, his enthusiasm for mathematics and his striving for excellence. In Bernhard Korte, the University of Bonn has lost a creative visionary and one of the most influential figures of recent decades. We’re immensely grateful for all he did for our University, the research community and society as a whole. His spirit will live on through his work.”
Further information:
Obituary of the Research Institute of Discrete Mathematics