International recognition from SIAM
We are pleased to share excellent news from the international research community. In 2025, our colleague Jakub W. Both and long‑standing collaborator Rainer Helmig were selected as recipients of prestigious awards from the SIAM Activity Group on Geosciences. The awards recognised their outstanding scientific contributions and long‑term impact on geoscience research related to energy, environment, and subsurface processes.
🏅 Jakub W. Both – Early Career Prize (2025)
Jakub W. Both, CSSR, University of Bergen, CSSR, received the 2025 SIAM Activity Group on Geosciences Early Career Prize for his broad and innovative contributions to mathematical problems in the geosciences. His work advanced optimisation methodologies for non‑smooth and non‑convex problems, with key applications in poroelasticity, geological CO₂ storage, and geothermal energy.
In the interview published by SIAM, Both described the prize as a particularly meaningful recognition at this stage of his career and emphasised the importance of the SIAM geosciences community in shaping his scientific identity. He highlighted how his research leveraged energy‑based formulations and alternating minimisation approaches to design robust and efficient solvers for coupled multiphysics problems, enabling improved prediction and simulation of complex subsurface systems relevant to climate and energy applications.
At the time of the award, Both was and continues to be a permanent researcher at the University of Bergen, with a background spanning mathematics, computational engineering, and applied mathematics. He also served as Chair of the Norwegian Chapter of InterPore and led an interdisciplinary early‑career project on CO₂ storage.
🏅 Rainer Helmig – Career Prize (2025)
Rainer Helmig, Professor Emeritus at the University of Stuttgart and a close collaborator of our research community, was awarded the 2025 SIAM Activity Group on Geosciences Career Prize. The award recognised his groundbreaking contributions to the mathematical and numerical modelling of multiphysics surface and subsurface flow processes, as well as his influential leadership and mentorship over several decades.
In his interview, Helmig underlined the collective nature of his achievements, crediting students, postdoctoral researchers, and collaborators. His research addressed complex coupled flow, transport, deformation, and interface‑driven processes in porous media, with applications ranging from CO₂ storage and geothermal energy to groundwater protection, environmental remediation, and biomedical systems. His work played a central role in advancing interdisciplinary modelling across applied mathematics, engineering, and geosciences.
Helmig’s career included leading major international research initiatives, co‑founding InterPore, and contributing extensively to the scientific community through service, collaboration, and education.
Award presentation and source
Both awards were presented in October 2025 in connection with the SIAM Conference on Mathematical & Computational Issues in the Geosciences (GS25).
Source:
SIAM News – 2025 October Prize Spotlight
SIAM Activity Group on Geosciences
(Full interviews and award citations are published by SIAM.)