Research
Many things in the world around us can be described by mathematical models. These equations are usually too difficult to solve exactly, but numerical methods make it possible to find accurate solutions. This field is called numerical mathematics or scientific computing. Computer simulations offer a powerful new way to do science, alongside theory and experiment.
I lead the Computational Optics group at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in the Netherlands. We work on lighting applications, where the central challenge is to design an optical system that transforms a given light source into a desired light output.
The industry standard is to design an optical system, test it with ray tracing, adjust the design, ray trace again and so on. This is an inherently slow process. Our group develops inverse methods that directly compute the required optical system, based on advanced physical models describing how light interacts with lenses and reflectors. The ultimate goal is to build simulation tools that enable virtual prototyping.
For more information, see the research section of our group's website. Our group is part of the Center for Analysis, Scientific Computing and Applications. For a list of publications, see my profile at TU/e.
Teaching
I teach a number of courses at TU/e, both for mathematics students and students from other departments. The videos I made for Numerical Linear Algebra are available on YouTube. Some nice applications are shown in Maths can teach a computer to recognize faces, Making sound visible and Recognizing digits written by hand.
I also teach an introductory course on Numerical Methods for students training to become a high school mathematics teacher in the Netherlands. These videos (in Dutch) are also available on YouTube.
Making videos for online teaching takes quite a bit of time, but it is rewarding too. I mirror my iPad screen to my computer and use the excellent free OBS Studio software for recording. It lets me switch easily between slides and webcam, or show both at the same time. I import slides into GoodNotes on iPad to present, and use the Apple Pencil both as a pointer and for handwriting. OBS also supports live streaming to YouTube.
More about me
I love reading books. My favorite authors include David Mitchell, Neil Gaiman, Haruki Murakami, Kazuo Ishiguro, Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, Louise Penny and Robert Harris. Most of the reading I do these days is actually listening — I have an Audible subscription, which is great because you can listen to audiobooks while traveling, loading the dishwasher and doing many other chores.
I spend many hours cycling around Utrecht on my Cube road bike. To plan nice routes I use the fantastic app Komoot, which features recommendations for scenic paths and places by other cyclists and offers turn-by-turn navigation. For the latter I use my iPhone mounted on my bike with a Quad Lock mount.
|
I enjoy using Apple products and have a small collection of vintage Apple computers: the Macintosh Classic shown in the photo to the left, the orange iBook that Reese Witherspoon uses in Legally Blonde, the G4 Cube that has even made it into the MoMA in New York, the iMac G4 nicknamed the lamp or sunflower, and a few more. |
| I lived in Japan and fell in love with the country and its people. Luckily my wife Lara shares this fascination, and we have traveled to Japan many times. Lara is passionate about origami and posts her work on Instagram as @origamitraces. |
|
How to reach me
dr.ir. Martijn Anthonissen
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Eindhoven University of Technology
P.O. Box 513
5600 MB Eindhoven
The Netherlands
Office: MetaForum building, 5th floor, room 5.094
E-mail: m.j.h.anthonissen@tue.nl
Mastodon: https://mathstodon.xyz/@martijn
Web: https://martijna.win.tue.nl/