Otto Volk Foundation

On the occasion of his 90th birthday in 1982, Otto Volk decided to establish a foundation for the ‘promotion of research in the fields of mathematics, celestial mechanics and the history of mathematics and astronomy at the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Würzburg.’

The foundation was established on 3 June 1983 and generously endowed by its founder. Since Otto Volk and his housekeeper Anna Guckes had each named the foundation as their sole heir, significant sums were transferred to the foundation after their deaths.

The foundation's emblem is a copy of a stone tablet that Otto Volk had affixed to his house. It refers to his hometown of Neuhausen near Stuttgart and his place of work in Würzburg, as well as to mathematics and astronomy.

In accordance with the statutes, the income from the foundation's capital has primarily been used to purchase literature for the branch library, support the colloquium and enable historical exhibitions. Since 2006, the Otto Volk Medal in silver has been awarded once a year.

The distribution of funds is decided by the foundation's advisory board, which includes all chair holders of the Mathematical Institute. The foundation's chair and deputy chair are elected from among its members for a term of two years.

The current chair of the foundation is Prof. Dr Peter Müller.