Research

Joachim Cuntz has made fundamental contributions to the area of C*-algebras and to the new field of noncommutative geometry in the sense of A. Connes. He has initiated the analysis of the structure of simple C*-algebras and has introduced there decisive new methods and examples (such as the Cuntz algebras and the Cuntz semigroup). He has been one of the first to apply K-theory to noncommutative operator algebras and has contributed to the development of that theory from the start. In collaboration with D. Quillen he has developed a new approach to cyclic cohomology and has proved the fundamental excision property of periodic cyclic theory. In recent years he is working mainly on C*-algebras that are related to structures from number theory.