Karim Ritter von Merkl
I am on the job market for postdoctoral positions starting in 2027.
I am a doctoral researcher in mathematics at the University of Hamburg, supervised by Paul Wedrich and affiliated with the CRC 1624 “Higher Structures, Moduli Spaces and Integrability”.
Research Interests
My research focuses on Khovanov homology and \(\mathfrak{gl}_N\) link homology, with a particular emphasis on colored invariants and the link homology of cables. I am interested in both their computational properties and the underlying categorical structures.
My recent work develops methods for computing colored Khovanov homology and colored superpolynomials, together with an accompanying online database. My current work studies cabling in \(\mathfrak{gl}_N\) link homology. More broadly, I am interested in the connections between low-dimensional topology, representation theory, and categorification.
Explore the database of colored superpolynomials
Outreach
I played a central role in establishing the Hamburg venue of Náboj in 2024 and have served as its main organizer since then. Náboj is an international mathematics competition in which teams of up to five high-school students work together for two hours to solve as many challenging problems of increasing difficulty as possible. The format emphasizes mathematical creativity, logical reasoning, and teamwork.
The Hamburg event has grown from 19 teams and around 100 students in 2024 to 38 teams and 170 students in 2026. We hope to build on this success and see the event continue to grow in the years ahead.