Bernd Wegner (mathematician)

Bernd Wegner (11 February 1942 – 18 January 2024) was a German mathematician. He was the editor-in-chief of Zentralblatt für Mathematik from 1974 until 2011.

Education and career

Wegner was born on 11 February 1942, in Berlin.^[1] He attended high school at the Humboldt Gymnasium in Berlin.^[1] He then attended the Technische Universität Berlin, receiving his diploma in 1966.^[1] He stayed at Technische Universität Berlin for his PhD, which he completed in 1970 under the direction of Kurt Leichtweiß, with a dissertation titled Beiträge zur Differentialgeometrie transnormaler Mannigfaltigeiten.^[2] He spent the remainder of his career at Technische Universität Berlin, retiring in 2007.^[1]

Wegner became editor-in-chief of Zentralblatt für Mathematik (later zbMATH Open) in 1974, taking over from Ulrich Güntzer.^[3][4] His tenure as editor encompassed the separation of East Germany from zbMath, the reunification of East and West Germany, and the transition of zbMath from a paper resource to a digital resource.^[3][4][5] While editor-in-chief, Wegner also helped to set up procedures for maintenance of the Mathematics Subject Classification.^[6] He stepped down in 2011, and was succeeded by Gert-Martin Greuel.^[3]

Personal life

Wegner died on 18 January 2024, following a fall.^[1][3]