Kurt Mehlhorn heads the algorithms and complexity group at the MPI for Informatics. He co-authored some 300 publications in the field, published six books, and is one of the people behind the LEDA software library. He graduated more than 80 students, many of whom have now faculty positions. He has received several prizes (Leibniz Award, EATCS Award, ACM Paris Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award, Erasmus Medal of the Academia Europaea) for his work. He holds Honorary Doctorate Degrees from Magdeburg, Waterloo, Aarhus and Gothenburg universities and is an ACM Fellow. He is a member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, Academia Europaea, the German Academy of Science and Engineering acatech, the US Academy of Engineering, and the US Academy of Science. From 2002 to 2008, he was vice president of the Max Planck Society. He is a co-founder of Algorithmic Solutions Software GmbH.

Mandate ERC Scientific Council: 01 Aug 2016 - 31 Dec 2022 (2nd term)