Ever wondered why the square root of π appears in the most unexpected places in Analysis and PDEs?
Once upon a time in the Land of Analysis, there lived a terrifying, seemingly unsolvable Gaussian integral, mocking all who dared challenge it. The mightiest heroes of Partial Differential Equations, Fourier, the masked superhero Laplacian, and even the chaotic gremlin Delta Function, were each defeated by their resepected weak-points.
Just when hope was lost, the wise, ancient sage π ARRIVES, revealing the ultimate “The Trick.” By teaching the mathematicians to “think in two dimensions” and use the geometry of Polar Coordinates, π unlocked the power of the circle. The battlefield rotated, the monster collapsed, and the secret weapon was revealed… it was circles all along! Happy Pi Day!
We are delighted to celebrate the successful PhD defense of Santiago, who presented his dissertation on the topic:
Pseudo-differential operators and spectral multipliers on non-Euclidean settings
Academic Achievement
Throughout these years, Santiago has demonstrated an outstanding level of dedication to his research, characterized by profound scientific curiosity and notable perseverance. His work has been published in prestigious journals, including the Journal of the London Mathematical Society and the Comptes Rendus de l’Académie des Sciences (Paris), reflecting the high quality and impact of his contributions to the field.
Santiago has contributed to the Banach Space and Banach Algebra course over the past three years by leading exercise sessions and assisting students in developing a deeper understanding of the material through carefully prepared problems and practical applications.
We wish Santiago every success in his future academic endeavors. May his mathematical journey be marked by impactful discoveries, fruitful collaborations, and continued contributions to the advancement of our field.
After 18 wonderful months in our research group, we are saying farewell to Arshyn as he begins his next chapter.
Arshyn, thank you for the dedication, the ideas, and the steady, positive energy you brought into our research center.
In these 18 months you were remarkably productive: seven preprints took shape during your stay, and you also won a research grant in Kazakhstan. That kind of focus is rare—and it lifted the pace of the whole group. Your work, and the way you shared it, made a clear difference.
As you move on, we wish you good luck and continued success. We hope you keep this momentum, find new problems worth your attention, and keep building strong collaborations around you.
We are pleased to announce a workshop on Fractional Partial Differential Equations and Related Topics, jointly organized by the Ghent Analysis & PDE Center and the FracDiff Research Group at Sultan Qaboos University.
The workshop aims to bring together researchers and practitioners to discuss recent developments, theoretical advances, and applications in fractional PDEs and related areas.
Workshop Chair: Dr. Sebti Kerbal, Leader of the FracDiff Research Group, Department of Mathematics, Sultan Qaboos University
Date: February 10, 2026
Venue: Department Resource Room 0135, Department of Mathematics, Sultan Qaboos University
Speakers
Professor Michael Ruzhansky (Ghent University, Belgium)
Professor Erkinjon Karimov (Ghent University, Belgium)
Dr. Nasir Hanifa (Sultan Qaboos University, Oman)
Dr. Mariam Al-Maskari (Sultan Qaboos University, Oman)
Schedule
14:00 – 15:00 | Professor Michael Ruzhansky “Fujita exponent for heat equations for groups and sums of squares”
15:00 – 15:30 | Professor Erkinjon Karimov “Green’s Function and Solution Representation for a Boundary Value Problem Involving the Prabhakar Fractional Derivative”
15:30 – 16:00 | Coffee Break
16:00 – 16:30 | Dr. Haniffa Mohamed Nasir. “A(0) and A(\pi/2) stabilities of fractional LMMs for fractional IVPs and applications“
16:30 – 17:00 | Dr. Mariam Al-Maskari.“Fractional Cahn-Hilliard equations: Analysis, Stochastic effects, and Numerical Perspectives“
We are delighted to congratulate Dr. Vishvesh Kumar on his new position at Department of Mathematical Sciences at IIT BHU Varanasi as an Assistant Professor. This is a wonderful milestone in his academic career, and a moment of pride for all of us at the Ghent Analysis & PDE Center.
Since joining our group as a postdoctoral researcher at Ghent University, Dr. Kumar has been an active and inspiring member of our community. Working within the Department of Mathematics: Analysis, Logic and Discrete Mathematics and the Ghent Analysis & PDE Center headed by Prof. Michael Ruzhansky, he has contributed significantly to our core areas of research.
Research contributions in our group
Dr. Kumar’s research lies at the intersection of abstract harmonic analysis, pseudo-differential operators, geometric analysis, and partial differential equations on Lie groups.
During his time in Ghent, he has:
Co-authored numerous papers on nonlocal and subelliptic problems on stratified Lie groups, including work on Brezis–Nirenberg type problems, critical equations, and fractional Sobolev-type inequalities.
Made substantial contributions to the theory of damped and fractional wave equations on graded and stratified Lie groups, including results for higher order hypoelliptic equations with data in negative order Sobolev spaces.
Advanced functional inequalities and harmonic analysis on symmetric spaces and hypergroups, with applications to Fourier multipliers, Strichartz estimates, and related analytic inequalities.
His work has appeared, or is forthcoming, in several respected international journals such as Journal of Evolution Equations, Mathematische Annalen, Journal of Geometric Analysis, Israel Journal of Mathematics, and others, reflecting both the depth and breadth of his contribution to our field.
A valued colleague
On a personal level, Vishvesh has been a generous collaborator and a supportive colleague. His willingness to discuss ideas, share expertise, and encourage younger researchers and visitors has left a strong and positive impression in our group. Many of us have benefited from his clarity of thought, his calm problem-solving approach, and his enthusiasm for mathematics.
Looking ahead
While we will miss having him at the Ghent Analysis & PDE Center, we are equally excited to see him take this next step as an Assistant Professor at IIT BHU Varanasi. We are confident that he will continue to build a vibrant research program, inspire students, and develop new collaborations that will further strengthen the links between our institutions.
Since 2017, the Federal Government allocates funds, through the office of VLIR-UOS, to the Global Minds Fund (GMF) of Ghent University. GMF operates as driver of change for sustainable development, by producing and valorising relevant knowledge and expertise through mutually beneficial partnerships.
The idea is to cooperate with several key figures of Brazilian mathematicians on a project leading to educational advancement in Brazil. This project will be valuable to pass to younger generations a significant perspective in the field of partial differential equations and control theory through the leading Brazilian partners of the project.
The project is promoted by Prof. Dr. Michael Ruzhansky (PI) and co-promoted by our FWO Postdoctoral Researchers (Co-PIs) Dr. Duvan Cardona and Dr. Marianna Chatzakou. As part of our strategic alliances we will cooperate with ICMAM Latin America (International Community of Mathematicians from Latin America) in the organisation of several virtual conferences related to this project.
About the Project
Project Title:Global Minds in PDE and Control Theory
Value of the grant: €10,000
Promotor: Prof. Dr. Michael Ruzhansky (PI), Ghent University. Co-promotors: Dr. Duvan Cardona (Co-PI), Ghent University Dr. Marianna Chatzakou (Co-PI), Ghent University
Global South partners:
Prof. Dr. Jaqueline Godoy Mesquita (Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Brazil) Prof. Dr. Paulo L. Dattori da Silva (Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil) Prof. Dr. Alexandre Kirilov (Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brazil) Prof. Dr. Marcelo R. Ebert (Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil) ICMAM Latin America(International Community of Mathematicians from Latin America)
Tentative plan of activities:
Virtual Activities (in Brazil and in El Salvador):
The goal of these conferences is the integration of Brazilian Mathematicians with the Central American Mathematical Community with the scientific cooperation of the Ghent Analysis and PDE Center, the International Society for Analysis, its Applications and Computation (ISAAC) and ICMAM Latin America (International Community of Mathematicians from Latin America). The organisation of these conferences will be supervised by the co-promotor Dr. Duván Cardona.
Editorial Project: These two conferences will receive scientific contributions from outstanding participants and speakers collected in the book:
Analysis and PDE in Latin America 2025, Global Minds – ICMAM 2025,
and will be submitted to the Book Series of the Ghent Analysis and PDE Center: Research Perspectives Ghent Analysis and PDE Center, Springer-Birkhäuser.
In-person Workshop. From April 27th to 30th 2026 (tentative schedule), the workshop:
Global Minds in Partial Differential Equations and Control Theory
will take place in person at Ghent University at the facilities of the Ghent Analysis and PDE Center.
Congratulations to Dr. Marianna Chatzakou on being awarded the prestigious
Senior Postdoctoral Fellowship
by FWO that aims to provide young researchers with optimal opportunities to build an independent international research career, either within an academic context or beyond.
Congratulations to Aidyn Kassymov and Nurgissa Yessirkegenov for receiving the nomination of
The Best Researcher Kazakhstan 2024
Their exceptional research contributions have greatly advanced our understanding of various fields, making them a deserving candidate for the Best Researcher nomination in Kazakhstan for 2024. We are proud to recognize their unwavering commitment to innovation and excellence, which inspires peers and students alike. This nomination not only highlights their remarkable achievements but also underscores their significant impact on the research community in Kazakhstan.
We are thrilled to announce that André Pedroso Kowacs has successfully defended his PhD dissertation jointly at Ghent University and Universidade Federal do Paraná, under the supervision of Profs Alexandre Kirilov and Michael Ruzhansky! 🌟
André began his academic journey with a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from UFPR in 2019. He quickly moved forward, embarking on his PhD directly in 2020, and spent 10 months in Belgium working on a joint PhD at our Ghent Analysis and PDE center of Ghent University. His research interests have focused primarily on analysis and partial differential equations, particularly in the context of compact Lie groups. 🌐🔍
His dissertation, titled “Links between regularity and inequalities on compact Lie groups”, presents remarkable results, including:
Global hypoellipticity and solvability of first-order “evolution” differential operators with variable complex coefficients, defined on the finite product of compact Lie groups.
Conditions for obtaining a “sharp” Gårding inequality for pseudo-differential operators acting on vector-valued functions and sections of homogeneous vector bundles.
This is a major achievement in the field of mathematics, contributing significantly to our understanding of the intricate connections between regularity and inequalities on compact Lie groups. 💡✨
Throughout his academic career, André has been actively involved in the Linear Equations group and the Universal CNPq projects since 2019. His work has resulted in two published papers and six preprints on arXiv. 📚🎓
Congratulations again to André, on this monumental achievement! 👏 👏👏
We are excited to see all the great things he will accomplish in his future endeavors and wish him all the best in his continued journey of academic and professional excellence. 🥳🎉🎊
Ghent Analysis & PDE Center 