Munich AI Lectures
How Machines Explore, Conjecture, and Discover Mathematics
Sebastian Pokutta, Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB)
12.02.2026
5:00 pm - 8:00 pm
LMU Munich, Main Building, Room D209
On Febuary 12, 2026, the next Munich AI Lecture will welcome Sebastian Pokutta from Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB).
This lecture shows how AI is increasingly becoming part of the scientific knowledge process.
In his talk “How Machines Explore, Conjecture, and Discover Mathematics”, Pokutta draws the focus of the lecture to the role of AI as a partner in mathematical research. Approaches from the AI4Math initiative will be presented that combine optimization, machine learning and mathematical structure to open up highly complex search spaces. Using the Hadwiger–Nelson problem, it is explained how neural networks can be used to convert mixed discrete-continuous problems into differentiable optimization problems and to explore new solution spaces.
Sebastian Pokutta is Vice President of the Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB) and Professor of Mathematics at the TU Berlin with a research focus on artificial intelligence and optimization. Among other things, he heads the MATH+ Cluster of Excellence and the MODAL Research Campus and has previously worked in science and industry, including at MIT, IBM ILOG and Georgia Tech. His work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Gödel Prize, the STOC Test of Time Award, and the NSF CAREER Award.
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