Tomáš Dohnal | KAP+KAJ

I wanted to study and ski, Liberec was the ideal place

Thanks to his athletic talent, Tomáš Dohnal had the opportunity to study mathematics in the USA at the University of New Mexico. After graduating high school, his first steps led him to our faculty, specifically to study math and English...

You are a professor in Germany at the university in Halle. What exactly is your area of expertise?

I deal with applied mathematical analysis, specifically partial differential equations. But even this is a very broad field and my specialization is nonlinear equations that describe waves (most often electromagnetic). Typical questions raised by our team concern the behavior of wave groups, the existence and bifurcation of spatially localized solutions (so-called solitary waves) and proofs of the truth of asymptotic estimates. We focus mainly on waves in non-trivial environments such as periodic materials (crystals) or at the boundary between two materials. Our methods are mostly analytical, which has the advantage of only requiring a pencil and paper. However, we often combine this with computer simulations, so we can sometimes publish a nice color chart in our articles.

When studying in Liberec, you were a top skier. Why did you ultimately put math before skiing?

Even though I was still skiing when studying at Liberec, I already knew it wouldn’t be enough to make the national team and compete in the World Cup. So being a top skier is really just a relative term. I participated in some international academic competitions including one Universiade and some national races in the Czech Republic and planned on becoming a math and English teacher, which is what I studied in Liberec at FP. The decision to devote myself professionally to mathematics came much later.

After graduating from high school why did you choose the TUL Faculty of Science, Humanities and Education in Liberec? Was it because it was close to your home in Jablonec?

After high school, I was a little burned out on skiing at the highest level and was determined to study in person. But at the same time, I wanted to continue to regularly race competitively. So, Liberec seemed like the ideal place to me. I had heard some good things about the Technical University in Liberec, so it was a no brainer. For a good part of my studies, I lived at home in Jablonec and commuted by bus. And for roughly a year and a half I lived in the Dukle Liberec dormitory, the club I was racing for at the time.

Did your Liberec alma mater help in any way with your subsequent study in the USA?

When I finished my studies in Liberec in 2000, I worked part-time for a year as an English teacher at a private high school in Liberec which no longer exists. But I wasn’t mentally prepared for “normal life” working as a full-time teacher. I wanted to see the world and heard from a friend about athletic scholarships in the US. A coach at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque was interested in me and so I went to study applied mathematics and ski for their university team. During the first semester I decided to get the most out of this trip and finish my math degree. I first got my master’s and later my doctorate. The combination of math and English I had from Liberec was the ideal preparation for these studies in the US. At the same time, in retrospect I found that our study of mathematics in Liberec was at a relatively high level and that we had gone fairly deep, especially in the analysis of Prof. Černý. At the same time, I must add that even the English in Liberec was demanding, and thanks to that I didn’t have any major language problems in the States.

What did you like the most when studying below Ještěd? What are your favorite memories?

I really appreciate all the attention the teachers at TUL paid to us. There was a very close relationship between the students and teachers and they forced us to perform at our best, especially at the Department of English. But I also remember many teachers in mathematics (in addition to Professor Černý, whom I’ve already mentioned). I had a very good relationship with Associate Professor Vild, who was my thesis advisor. I also have fond memories of the foreign lecturers at the Department of English. I'm still in touch with some, like Tony Davis from London. Of course, I’m also glad I met Kateřina there, who was studying Czech and physical education. After graduating she decided to follow me to the US and later even married me.