Sebastian Gottwald
Post-doctoral researcher at the Institute of Neural Information Processing at Ulm University with a background in mathematics and physics.
Current research interests
- Uncertainty in decision-making systems and algorithms.
- Abstraction in artificial systems.
- Autonomous agents in arbitrary environments.
- Latent state models, attention, and memory attractor dynamics.
Current teaching
- Deep Learning (coming up)
- Introduction to Deep Learning with Python (coming up)
- Berechenbarkeit und Komplexität: Vorlesungsnotizen
- Learning Systems II: Lecture notes and simulations
- Foundations and Concepts of Cognitive Systems Modeling
- Bachelor and Master Theses: Here is a list of proposed topics, but feel free to suggest your own. Simply approach one of our members if you are interested.
Selected publications
- Gottwald S., Braun D.A. On the Structure of Information, Preprint (arXiv)
- Hack P., Braun D.A., Gottwald S. Majorization requires infinitely many second laws, 2024, Proceedings of the Royal Society A, 480, 2296, The Royal Society Publishing (arXiv)
- Hack P., Lindig-Leon C., Gottwald S., Braun D.A. Thermodynamic fluctuation theorems govern human sensorimotor learning, 2023, Scientific Reports 13, 869 (2023) (arXiv)
- Gottwald S., Braun D.A. The two kinds of free energy and the Bayesian revolution, 2020, PLOS Computational Biology, 16(12), Public Library of Science (arXiv)
- Hihn H., Gottwald S., Braun D.A., An Information-theoretic On-line Learning Principle for Specialization in Hierarchical Decision-Making Systems, 2019, IEEE 58th Conference on Decision and Control, IEEE
- Gottwald S., Braun D.A., Bounded rational decision-making from elementary computations that reduce uncertainty, 2019, Entropy 21, 4, 375 (arXiv)
- Gottwald S., Braun D.A., Systems of bounded rational agents with information-theoretic constraints, 2019, Neural Computation 31, 2, p.440-476, MIT Press (arXiv)
- Hihn H., Gottwald S., Braun D.A., Bounded Rational Decision-Making with Adaptive Neural Network Priors, 2018, Artificial Neural Networks in Pattern Recognition, Springer (arXiv)
- Gottwald S., Two-term spectral asymptotics for the Dirichlet pseudo-relativistic kinetic energy operator on a bounded domain, 2018, Annales Henri Poincaré 19(12), Springer (arXiv)
Academic positions
- Post-Doctoral Researcher, 2016 - present
Institute of Neural Information Processing, Ulm University
Doing research in information theory and machine learning, supervising an interdisciplinary team of PhD students, giving lectures and exercise sessions.
- Teaching Assistant, 2013 - 2016
Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Statistics, LMU Munich
Organizing exercise and tutorial groups, creating exams and exercise sheets, hiring and supervising tutors, and substituting lecturers for various lectures (see teaching experience).
- Student Assistant, 2007 - 2013
Department of Mathematics and Faculty of Physics, LMU Munich
Tutoring lower semester students; correcting exams and exercise sheets; writing lecture notes.
Education
- Dr.rer.nat (Mathematics, LMU Munich), 2013 - 2016
- M.Sc. (Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, LMU and TU Munich), 2010 - 2013
- B.Sc. (Physics, LMU Munich), 2006 - 2010
Thesis: Functional Integral for Gauge Potentials and Bosonic Strings
Honors and Fellowships
- Fellow of the Richard-Winter scholarship, 2010 – 2013
- Selected to enter the elite graduate program Theoretical and Mathematical Physics at the LMU and TU Munich, 2010
- Fellow of the e-fellows.net online scholarship and career network, 2006 – present
- Ferry Porsche Prize "for outstanding performance in Mathematics and Physics", 2005
- 2nd prize at Jugend forscht, 2000 (German youth science competition)
Teaching Experience
- Institute of Neural Information Processesing, Ulm University, 2016 - present
Supervising a team of interdisciplinary PhD students, supervising undergraduate students, giving lectures and exercise sessions.
- Department of Mathematics, LMU Munich, 2013 - 2016
Teaching mathematics and informatics students in the following courses as a teaching assistant:
- Functional Analysis, Prof. Thomas Østergaard Sørensen PhD, Summer 2016
- Functional Analysis II, Prof. Thomas Østergaard Sørensen PhD, Winter 2015/2016
- Functional Analysis, Prof. Martin Fraas PhD, Summer 2015
- Functional Analysis II, Prof. Thomas Østergaard Sørensen PhD, Winter 2014/15
- Functional Analysis, Prof. Dr. Peter Müller, Summer 2014
- Analysis for Computer Scientists and Statisticians, Prof. Dr. Peter Otte, Winter 2013/2014
- Topology and Differential Calculus in Several Variables, Prof. Dr. Merkl, Summer 2013
- Faculties of Physics, Mathematics, Informatics, and Statistics, LMU Munich, 2007 - 2012
Tutor and marker as a working student for the following lectures:
- Mathematical Quantum Mechanics, Prof. László Erdös, PhD, Winter 2012
- Measure and Integration Theory, Dr. Ralf Gerkmann, Summer 2012
- Functional Analysis II, Prof. Thomas Østergaard Sørensen PhD, Winter 2011
- Mathematics II for Natural Scientists, PD Dr. Doris Jakubassa-Amundsen, Summer 2011
- Linear Algebra, Prof. Dr. Peter Pickl, Summer 2011
- Mathematics I for Natural Scientists, PD Dr. Doris Jakubassa-Amundsen, Winter 2010
- Mathematics II for Natural Scientists, PD Dr. Doris Jakubassa-Amundsen, Summer 2010
- Classical Mechanics, Prof. Dr. Jan von Delft, Summer 2009
- Quantum Mechanics, Prof. Dr. Stefan Kehrein, Winter 2007
- Faculty of Physics, LMU Munich, 2006-2008
Shared lecture notes partly written as a working student:
- Elektrodynamik, Prof. Dr. Gerhard Buchalla, Summer 2008
- Quantenmechanik, Prof. Dr. Stefan Kehrein, Winter 2007
- Theoretische Mechanik, Prof. Dr. Jan von Delft, Summer 2007
- Rechenmethoden, Bernhard Emmer, Winter 2006