GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENT

May 17-21, 2010, Department of Mathematics, The University of Texas-Pan American, Edinburg, Texas, USA 

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENT

The Mathematics Department at the University of Texas – Pan American will host an NSF/CBMS regional research conference on Nonlinear Water Waves with Applications to Wave-Current Interactions and Tsunamis during the week of May 17-21, 2010. The principal speaker will be Professor Adrian Constantin, Chair of Partial Differential Equations at the University of Vienna, Austria.  Adrian Constantin was awarded several research prizes ("Benedetto Sciarra" prize of the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa in 1994, "Göran Gustafsson" prize of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 2005, "Friedrich Bessel" prize of the Humboldt foundation in 2007) and he is involved in international research networks.

Adrian Constantin's research interests focus on partial differential equations (PDEs). This is broad subject area of mathematics which links important strands of pure mathematics to applied mathematics. PDEs are ubiquitous in almost all applications of mathematics, providing in particular a mathematical description of many physical phenomena. The theory of water waves offers a paradigm for the approach. The endeavor is to use mathematics to describe and to investigate water waves, seeking a better understanding of natural phenomena like solitons or tsunamis that have attracted the attention of scientists, mathematicians and laymen for more than a century. The lack of explicit solutions and the complexity of the nonlinear processes often preclude the possibility of gaining insight by performing numerical and computational simulations. Instead one has to uncover structural properties, a process relying on a combination of analytical approaches with methods specific to algebra, geometry and/or topology. For example, in-depth aspects of the dynamics of solitons were discovered using an interplay of such diverse fields of mathematics as spectral theory, algebraic geometry and numerical analysis. PDEs are fascinating since major advances are usually contingent upon links to and inspiration from other fields of mathematics, taking also advantage of the natural interdependence between mathematical, physical and engineering aspects of the subject.  Additional invited lectures will also be featured by other leading experts, including Professors J. Bona, A. Degasperis, J. Escher, A. S. Fokas, R. Johnson, W. Strauss, J. F. Toland, E. Varvaruca, and possibly others.

Participation is open to scientists working at research level on theoretical and practical aspects of the conference’s topic.  Some limited support is available for travel and local expenses.

Application for participation and possible travel support must be made by February 28, 2010. Late applicants will be considered as space permits. Inclusion of a short resume stating research interests from graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty would be helpful to the conference Directors for consideration of support.  Underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply.