Habib Ammari  

Biographical Sketch (Cv in pdf ; Full Publication List ; Inaugural lecture at ETH )

Habib Ammari is a Professor of Applied Mathematics at ETH Zürich. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Hong Kong Institute for Advanced Study. Before moving to ETH, he was a Director of Research at the Department of Mathematics and Applications at Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris. He received a Bachelor's degree in 1992, a Master's degree in 1993, and a Ph.D. in applied mathematics in 1995, all from the Ecole Polytechnique, France. Following this, he received a Habilitation degree in Mathematics from the University of Pierre & Marie Curie in Paris three years later. Habib Ammari is a world leading expert in wave propagation phenomena in complex media, mathematical modelling in photonics and phononics, and mathematical biomedical imaging. He has published more than three hundred research papers, nine high profile research-oriented books and edited eight books on contemporary issues in applied mathematics. He has advised forty PhD students and twenty seven postdoctoral researchers. He has one hundred sixty co-authors, originally from thirty six different countries. Habib Ammari was awarded a European Research Council Advanced Grant in 2010 in recognition of the excellence of his achievements and his outstanding research program in mathematical imaging. He was named the 2013 winner of the Kuwait Prize in Basic Sciences and received this prestigious prize from His Highness the Emir of Kuwait. In 2015, he was the recipient of the Khwarizmi International Award in Basic Sciences, which is the highest honor accorded by His Excellency the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran for intellectual achievement. Habib Ammari has been a fellow of the Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts since 2015 and of the European Academy of Sciences since 2018. Since 2021, he has been also fellow of the American Mathematical Society (2022 Class) and the Academia Europaea . He is listed as an ISI highly cited researcher.

Visiting Professorships

Current Research Interests

• Mathematical fundamentals for metamaterials and topological properties at subwavelength scales
• Super-resolution imaging
• Hybrid medical imaging
• Mathematics for bio-inspired imaging and perception

Graduate Teaching at ETH

• Mathematics and Computational Methods in Photonics
• Mathematics of Super-Resolution Biomedical Imaging

Prizes, Honors, and Awards

• Senior Fellow of the Hong Kong Institute for Advanced Study, 2024-.
• Principle lecturer, NSF-CBMS Regional Research Conference in the Mathematical Sciences 2024.
• Member of the Academia Europaea, 2021-.
• Fellow of the American Mathematical Society (2022 Class).
• Member of the European Academy of Sciences, 2018-.
• Highly Cited Researcher in Mathematics by Clarivate Analytics, 2016.
• Member of the Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts, 2015-.
• Khwarizmi International Award 2015 in Basic Sciences.
• Kuwait Prize 2013 in Basic Sciences.
• European Research Council Advanced Investigator Grant 2010-2016.

Recent Honors Awarded to Associated People

• Jinghao Cao
  • von Karman instructorship, California Institute of Technology, 09.2024-08.2026.
• Erik O. Hiltunen
  • ETH Medal for an outstanding PhD thesis, 2022.
  • ECCOMAS PhD Award for the best PhD theses of 2021 on Computational Methods in Applied Science and Engineering.
  • Gibbs assistant professorship, Yale University, 08.2021-07-2024.
• Thea Kosche
  • ETH Medal for an outstanding Master thesis, 2022.
• Bryn Davies
  • Marie Curie fellowship, Imperial College London, 08.2022-.07-2024.
• Florian Feppon
  • Prix Paul Caseau 2020 from the French Academy of Technologies and EDF in the domain of numerical modeling and simulation.
  • ECCOMAS PhD Award for the best PhD theses of 2019 on Computational Methods in Applied Science and Engineering.

Recent Invitations

• 50 ans du CMAP, Paris, September 2024.
• International Congress of Basic Science, Beijing, July 2024 [video_ICBS].
• Recent Trends in Applied Mathematics and Machine Learning, Jilin, July 2024.
• HKIAS International Conference on Mathematical Analysis and its Applications, Hong Kong, April 2024.
• International Workshop on Computational Mathematics, Hangzhu, October 2023.
• ENUMATH 2023, Lisbon, September 2023.
• The Second HKSIAM Biennial Conference, Hong Kong, August 2023.
• Neumann-Poincaré Operator, Layer Potential Theory, Plasmonics and Related Topics, Tokyo, August 2023.
• Mathematical Aspects of Condensed Matter Physics, Zürich, July 2023.

Recent Talks

• From condensed-matter theory to subwavelength physics [video_Tshingua] [video_Sorbonne]
• Time-modulated metamaterials [video_IAS_HK]
• Functional analytic methods for discrete approximation of subwavelength resonator systems [video_CityU_HK]
• Wave interaction with subwavelength resonators [video_Beijing] [video_Columbia][video_Imperial] [video_Tsinghua] [video_UCI]
• Subwavelength resonances: From super-resolution to metamaterials [video_HKUST]
• Bio-inspired sensing and imaging [video_College_de_France]
• Mathematical imaging

Publications

• Publication Citations at MathSciNet (6825 Sum of Times Cited by 1958 Authors in 2300 Publications); Top 5 most cited mathematicians graduated in 1995; GoogleScholar (15224 Sum of Times Cited; h-index: 64).
• Reprints
• Preprints

• (with H. Kang) Reconstruction of Small Inhomogeneities from Boundary Measurements, Lecture Notes in Mathematics, Volume 1846, Springer-Verlag, Berlin 2004. Citations.
• (with H. Kang) Polarization and Moment Tensors: with Applications to Inverse Problems and Effective Medium Theory. Applied Mathematical Sciences Series, Volume 162, Springer-Verlag, New York, 2007. Citations.
• An Introduction to Mathematics of Emerging Biomedical Imaging. Mathématiques et Applications, Volume 62, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2008. Citations.
• (with H. Kang and H. Lee) Layer Potential Techniques in Spectral Analysis. Mathematical Surveys and Monographs, Volume 153, American Mathematical Society, Providence, 2009. Citations.
• (with J. Garnier, W. Jing, H. Kang, M. Lim, K. Solna, and H. Wang) Mathematical and Statistical Methods for Multistatic Imaging. Lecture Notes in Mathematics, Volume 2098, Springer-Verlag, Cham, 2013. Citations.
• (with E. Bretin, J. Garnier, H. Kang, H. Lee, and A. Wahab) Mathematical Methods in Elasticity Imaging. Princeton Series in Applied Mathematics, Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 2015. Citations.
• (with J. Garnier, H. Kang, L. Nguyen, and L. Seppecher) Multi-Wave Medical Imaging. Modelling and Simulation in Medical Imaging, Volume 2, World Scientific, London, 2017, 666 pages. Citations.
• (with B. Fitzpatrick, H. Kang, M. Ruiz, S. Yu, and H. Zhang) Mathematical and Computational Methods in Photonics and Phononics. Mathematical Surveys and Monographs, Volume 235, American Mathematical Society, Providence, 2018, 509 pages. Citations.
• (with B. Davies) Metamaterial Analysis and Design. De Gruyter Series in Applied and Numerical Mathematics, volume 9, 2023.

• (with H. Kang) Inverse Problems, Multi-Scale Analysis, and Homogenization. Contemporary Mathematics, Volume 408, American Mathematical Society, Providence, 2006.
• Modeling and Computations in Electromagnetics: A Volume Dedicated to Jean-Claude Nédélec. Lecture Notes in Computational Science and Engineering, Volume 59, Springer-Verlag, Berlin 2007.
• (with H. Kang) Imaging Microstructures: Mathematical and Computational Challenges. Contemporary Mathematics, Volume 494, American Mathematical Society, Providence, 2009.
• Mathematical Modeling in Biomedical Imaging I: Electrical and Ultrasound Tomographies, Anomaly Detection, and Brain Imaging. Lecture Notes in Mathematics: Mathematical Biosciences Subseries, Volume 1983, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2009.
• (with J. Garnier, H. Kang, and K. Solna) Mathematical and Statistical Methods for Imaging. Contemporary Mathematics, Volume 548, American Mathematical Society, Providence, 2011.
• Mathematical Modeling in Biomedical Imaging II: Optical, Ultrasound, and Opto-Acoustic Tomographies. Lecture Notes in Mathematics: Mathematical Biosciences Subseries, Volume 2035, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2011.
• (with Y. Capdeboscq and H. Kang) Multi-scale and High-Contrast Partial Differential Equations. Contemporary Mathematics, Volume 577, American Mathematical Society, Providence, 2012.
• (with J. Garnier) Inverse Problems and Imaging. Panoramas et synthèses, Volume 44, Société Mathématique de France, 2015.
• (with Y. Capdeboscq, H. Kang, and I. Sim) Imaging, Multi-Scale and High Contrast PDE. Contemporary Mathematics, Volume 660, American Mathematical Society, Providence, 2016.

Former PhD Students

• Natacha Vialle-Béreux (supervised with J.C. Nédélec), Resonances for Maxwell's Equations, PhD Thesis, Ecole Polytechnique, December 1998 (Reviewers: M. Costabel and P. Joly).
• Chiraz Latiri (supervised with J.C. Nédélec), Approximate Boundary Conditions in Electromagnetics, PhD Thesis, Ecole Polytechnique, November 1999 (Reviewers: G. Bao and P. Monk).
• Abdessatar Khelifi, Electromagnetic Scattering From Small Dielectric Inhomogeneities, PhD Thesis, Ecole Polytechnique, February 2002 (Reviewers: O. Bruno and M. Yamamoto); HDR 2012.
• Faouzi Triki, Asymptotics of Resonant Frequencies in Electromagnetics, PhD Thesis, Ecole Polytechnique, December 2002 (Reviewers: G. Bouchitté and F. Santosa); HDR 2015.
• Karim Touibi, Imaging Microstructures, PhD Thesis, Ecole Polytechnique, April 2004 (Reviewers: E. Beretta and H. Tuong).
• Sofiane Soussi , Mathematical Modeling in Optics, PhD Thesis, Ecole Polytechnique, September 2004 (Reviewers: D. Dobson and E. Bonnetier).
• Ekaterina Iakovleva (supervised with D. Lesselier), Inverse Scattering from Small Inclusions, PhD Thesis, Ecole Polytechnique, November 2004 (Reviewers: J. Blum and M. Vogelius).
• Habib Zribi, Layer Potential Techniques for Sensitivity Analysis, PhD Thesis, Ecole Polytechnique, December 2005 (Reviewers: G. Dassios and L. Greengard); HDR 2012.
• Kaouthar Louati, Mathematical Modeling for Corrosion Detection in Pipelines, PhD Thesis, Ecole Polytechnique, December 2006 (Reviewers: I. Ionescu and B. Maury).
• Anael Dossevi (supervised with L. Garnero), Methods of Reconstruction of Functional Networks from Cortical Sources Dynamics in Electro- and Magneto-encephalography, PhD Thesis, Ecole Polytechnique, December 2007 (Reviewers: H. Benali and J. Garnier).
• Anastasia Kozhemyak, Mathematical Models and Reconstruction Methods for Emerging Biomedical Imaging, PhD Thesis, Ecole Polytechnique, June 2008 (Reviewers: M. Asch and V. Komornik).
• Won-Kwang Park (supervised with D. Lesselier), Inverse Scattering from Two-Dimensional Thin Inclusions and Cracks, PhD Thesis, Ecole Polytechnique, February 2009 (Reviewers: E. Beretta and O. Dorn).
• Pierre Garapon, Multiscale Elasticity Imaging, PhD Thesis, Ecole Polytechnique, June 2009 (Reviewers: L. Greengard and G. Uhlmann); Best Thesis Prize.
• Sheraz Khan (supervised with S. Baillet), MEG Source Imaging and Dynamic Characterization, PhD Thesis, Ecole Polytechnique, January 2010 (Reviewers: A. Djaffari and J. Garnier).
• Lili Guadarrama Bustos, Transient Wave Imaging, PhD Thesis, Ecole Polytechnique, June 2010 (Reviewers: Y. Capdeboscq and K. Solna).
• Jean-Baptiste Bellet (supervised with G. Berginc), Mathematical and Numerical Methods for Skin Imaging with Polarized Light, PhD Thesis, Ecole Polytechnique, December 2010 (Reviewers: D. Auroux and D. Fedbacq).
• Vincent Jugnon, Modelling and Simulation in Photoacoustics, PhD Thesis, Ecole Polytechnique, December 2010 (Reviewers: M. Hanke, J. Schotland, and H. Zhao); Best Thesis Prize.
• Abdul Wahab, Modeling and Imaging of Attenuation in Biological Media, PhD Thesis, Ecole Polytechnique, November 2011 (Reviewers: M. Bergounioux and O. Scherzer).
• Thomas Boulier (supervised with J. Garnier), Electro-sensing for Weakly Electric Fish , PhD Thesis, Ecole Polytechnique, June 2013 (Reviewers: O. Bruno, J.K. Seo, and H. Zhao).
• Laure Giovangigli (supervised with J. Garnier), Mathematical Modeling for Cell Membrane Imaging, PhD Thesis, University of Paris VII, June 2014 (Reviewers: D. Auroux and J. Schotland).
• Laurent Seppecher (supervised with J. Garnier), Mathematical Modeling of Biomedical Imaging by Mechanical Perturbations, PhD Thesis, University of Paris VI, June 2014 (Reviewers: O. Scherzer and J. Schotland).
• Pierre Millien (supervised with J. Garnier), Mathematical Modelling of Hybrid and Nanoparticle Imaging, PhD Thesis, Ecole Normale Supérieure, June 2015 (Reviewers: S. Arridge, M. Burger, and M. Lassas).
• Timothée Wintz, Super-Resolution in Wave Imaging, PhD Thesis, Ecole Normale Supérieure, June 2017 (Reviewers: M. Lim and C. Schonlieb).
• Wenlong Zhang (supervised with Z. Chen), Forward and Inverse Problems Under Uncertaintly, PhD Thesis, Ecole Normale Supérieure, June 2017 (Reviewers: L. Borcea and J. Garnier).
• Matias Ruiz, Mathematical Analysis of Plasmonic Resonances for Nanoparticles and Applications, PhD Thesis, Ecole Normale Supérieure, June 2017 (Reviewers: O. Bruno and G. Lebeau).
• Brian Fitzpatrick, Mathematical Analysis of Minnaert Resonances for Acoustic Metamaterials, PhD Thesis, ETH Zürich, June 2018 (Reviewers: R. Craster and G. Lebeau).
• Wei Wu, Mathematical and numerical frameworks for metamaterials and metasurfaces, PhD Thesis, ETH Zürich, July 2018 (Reviewers: P. Li and H. Liu).
• Francisco Romero, Mathematics of Medical Imaging with Dynamic Data, PhD Thesis, ETH Zürich, July 2018 (Reviewers: J. Garnier and K. Solna).
• Alexander Dabrowski, Perturbation of eigenvalues and scattering resonances with applications in imaging, ETH Zürich, December 2018 (Reviewer: N. Nigam).
• Lorenzo Baldassari, Mathematical models for bio-inspired imaging and plasmonics, PhD Thesis, ETH Zürich, May 2021 (Reviewer: E. Francini).
• Andrea Scapin, Mathematics of biomimetics for active echo- and electro-sensing, PhD Thesis, ETH Zürich, May 2021 (Reviewer: E. Beretta).
• Khtim Imeri, Focusing of Acoustic and Electromagnetic Waves: A Mathematical Analysis, PhD Thesis, ETH Zürich, May 2021 (Reviewer: H. Zhang).
• Bryn Davies, Mathematical analysis of subwavelength-metamaterials: sensors, waveguides, and biomimicry, PhD Thesis, ETH Zürich, May 2021 (Reviewer: O. Bruno).
• Erik Orvehed Hiltunen, Asymptotic analysis of high-contrast subwavelength resonator structures, PhD Thesis, ETH Zürich, May 2021 (Reviewer: L. Greengard).
• Jinghao Cao, Mathematical Foundation for Symmetry Breaking in Subwavelength Physics, PhD Thesis, ETH Zürich, May 2024 (Reviewer: J. Garnier).
• Konstantinos Alexopoulos, Mathematical analysis of dispersive and damped materials and applications, PhD Thesis, ETH Zürich, May 2024 (Reviewer: P. Millien).

Former Post-Docs

Giovanni Alberti, Elie Bretin, Giulio Ciraolo, Youjun Deng, Florian Feppon, Souhir Gdoura, David Gontier, Jean-Philippe Groby, Wenjia Jing, Kostis Kalimeris, Eunjoo Kim, Hyundae Lee, Mikyoung Lim, Ping Liu, Clair Poignard, Loc Hoang Nguyen, Anna Rozanova, Minh Phuong Tran, Alice Vanel, Han Wang, Alden Waters, Thomas Widlak, Sanghyeon Yu, Hai Zhang, Guang-Hui Zheng.

Jorg Nick.

• Member of the European Research Council Starting Grant Panel (PE1), 2013--2019 and Expert for Synergy Calls (2019-).
• Member of the Scientific Review Panel, Hong Kong Laureate Forum 2021 and 2025.
• Member of the editorial board of SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics, SIAM Journal on Imaging Sciences, Journal of Computational Physics, Journal de l'Ecole Polytechnique (2013-2023), Mathematical Methods in the Applied Sciences (2007-2022), Inverse Problems and Imaging, Journal of Inverse and Ill-posed Problems, SN Partial Differential Equations and Applications (2018-2022), Journal of Computational Mathematics, Modelling and Simulation in Medical Imaging, and Zürich Lectures in Advanced Mathematics.
• Member of the Cancer Plan Panel of the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, 2011--2014 and 2016.
• Member of the evaluation committee of the Institut de Mathématiques de Marseille, 2016.
• Member of the evaluation panel of INRIA, 2018.
• Co-organizer of CISM Course, Metamaterials in acoustics, electrodynamics and electromagnetism, Udine, 2021 , CIME-EMS Summer School in Applied Mathematics, Cetraro, 2019 , Optical Imaging and Inverse Problems, IMA, Minneapolis, 2017, Novel Optical Materials, IMA, Minneapolis, 2017, OSA 2016 Mathematics in Imaging, ICM 2014 Satellite Conference on Imaging, Multi-Scale and High Contrast PDE, CIMPA School 2013 on Mathematical and Statistical Tools for Imaging, and Summer School 2012 on Mathematical and Statistical Methods for Imaging, Chinese Academy of Science.
• Member of the scientific committees of the Applied and Inverse Problems Conferences 2013, 2017, and 2019; member of the Calderon Prize Committee 2013.
• Member of the Peter Henrici Prize Committee 2019.