Mathematics is regarded as an abstract discipline. In fact, however, it touches on very concrete topics: How do infections spread? How do cells develop? How can large amounts of data be analysed in such a way as to yield new insights for diagnostics, treatment or personalised approaches? Behind equations and probabilities lie questions that ultimately affect us all: How does life arise? How does it change? And how much of it can actually be described?
“Mathematics is the tool that quantifies all sciences and makes them verifiable through numbers. Without it, there can be no explanation of the world,” says Klemens Fellner, Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of Graz. If it were a spoken language, would there be communication problems between the disciplines? “Yes, absolutely,” says Fellner. “Not every field of application can be solved using the same models. Physics is different from chemistry. Computed tomography differs from music. As a mathematician, you have to adapt to the respective language – that is, the appropriate equations – and learn them.”
Graz as a mathematics hotspot
This conference highlights the exchange between different scientific approaches. Biologists, medical scientists, mathematicians and computer scientists are increasingly working on the same problems – albeit from different perspectives. Whilst some take samples, collect data or plan experiments, others look for patterns, formulate relationships and calculate possible developments. Such procedures are found in imaging techniques as well as in statistical studies, in drug development, in risk assessments and in epidemiological forecasts. Anyone talking about personalised medicine today is also talking about datasets, probabilities and simulations. Patients remain unique – but it is precisely to better understand this individuality that calculation is needed.
A glance at music shows that mathematical structures play a role not only in laboratories, clinics or computer models. “What we perceive as harmonious has to do with simple numerical ratios between notes: an octave, a fifth or a fourth sound familiar because their vibrations are in specific proportions to one another,” explains Fellner, who is a musician himself. The wave equation, the fundamentals of which were formulated as early as the 18th century, describes how such vibrations propagate – for example, along a string, in a column of air or within a room.
“Perhaps that is why it is so fundamental to the sciences: not because it provides a definitive explanation of the world, but because it constantly asks anew how the world can be described,” says Fellner. “Basic mathematical research often yields applications that only become apparent years later – which makes reliable funding for universities all the more important, as it keeps such long-term avenues of discovery open.”
Enrol now!
At the University of Graz, the NAWI Graz “Mathematics” degree programme not only teaches abstract methods and theoretical foundations, but also demonstrates how mathematical thinking helps to precisely describe and solve complex problems in the natural sciences, medicine, technology and society. Enrol now for the Bachelor’s programme by 24 August 2026.