Erick Schulz

I am a computational science engineer with a PhD in mathematics interested in research, technical software development and new technologies, with experience in numerical methods, algorithms for simulation, scientific product development and leadership.

Professional Experience

Plexim (2022 - Present)

I joined Plexim in 2022 as a research scientist and software engineer, working on numerical methods and modeling for circuit simulation in C++. I was quickly promoted to team leader and put in charge of developing a custom differential-algebraic equation (DAE) solver for highly non-linear, mixed-formulation, mixed-signal circuits.

This multi-year project was part of the PowerizeD consortium, partially funded by Horizon Europe (~1M€). Our innovative product, which redefines state-of-the-art transient analysis for power-electronic systems, was released at the end of 2025. For 2026, our grant proposal to develop AI-powered software tools for accelerating power electronics design was also awarded funding (~1M€) by the same institution.

Since late 2024, I also head our scientific software division as engineering manager, overseeing projects built by a team of talented engineers.

ETH Zurich (2018 - 2022, 2026 - Present)

Starting in 2026, I am a lecturer at ETH, teaching Numerical Methods for Partial Differential Equations for the Computational Science and Engineering department. I also co-supervise graduate students in affiliation with the university.

Previously, I was a scientific assistant and PhD Student (graduated in 2022). My research focused on the interface between geometry and numerical analysis, developing stable methodologies for solving PDEs using finite and boundary element methods. I worked on models for electromagnetism based on Hodge-Dirac and Hodge-Laplace operators, leading to discoveries that received warm reception at the conference Fast Boundary Element Methods in Industrial Applications and a nomination for the ETH Medal in 2022. My collaboration with Prof. Ralf Hiptmair continues to this day.

I also co-led the development of NumPDE, a repository of ~65 algorithms for simulating phenomena such as fluid flow, electrostatics, shock waves, and heat propagation. This remains a standard framework for the Numerical Methods for PDEs course at ETH.

Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs (2017)

As an R&D intern, I worked on geometry-based optimization algorithms for large-scale dynamical systems used as surrogate models for heat propagation in buildings.

McGill University (2014 - 2017)

I hold a M.Sc. in Applied Mathematics (2017) and a B.A. in Mathematics with a minor in Computer Science (2016) from McGill. I graduated with first class honours and appeared on the Dean's Honour List (top 10% of faculty). My Master's thesis proposed the first proof of convergence of Discrete Exterior Calculus (DEC), a method widely used in computer graphics and computational topology.