|
UK Nonlinear News Issue 54, Mar 2009
|
News
Nonlinearity is pleased to announce the formation of the
Nonlinear and Complex Physics Group of the Institute of
Physics. The group is chaired by Professor Thomas Mullin, University
of Manchester, UK.
The group will hold its inaugural meeting at the University of Manchester
(UK) on 1-2 April 2009, and will feature talks from the following invited
speakers:
P. Ball (Nature) - Complexity
K. Dholakia (University of St Andrews, UK) - Optical trapping
J. Gollub (Haverford College, USA) - Nonlinear physics and fluid dynamics
S. Hilgenfeldt (University of Illinois, USA) - Foams and biological physics
D. Lohse (Twente University, Netherlands) - Bubbles and microfluidics
G. -L. Oppo (University of Strathclyde, UK) - Nonlinear optics
Appointments
The
nonlinear
and complex dynamics group at the University of Aberdeen has recently been
enriched by new academic appointments. The academic staff in this area are the
following:
Prof Celso Grebogi, Sixth Century Chair in Nonlinear and Complex Systems
Prof Juergen Kurths, Sixth Century Chair in Nonlinear Systems Biology
Prof Ying-Cheng Lai, Sixth Century Chair in Electrical Engineering
Dr. Oliver Ebenhoeh, Reader in Systems Biology and Bioinformatics
Dr. Murilo Baptista, Senior Lecturer in Nonlinear Dynamics and Complex Networks
Dr. Alessandro Moura, Lecturer in Statistical Physics and Systems Biology Dr. Marco Thiel, Lecturer in the Theory of Dynamical Systems
Dr. Mamen Romano, Lecturer in Nonlinear Dynamics and Systems Biology
Dr. Ekkehard Ullner, Lecturer in Stochastic Dynamics and Systems Biology
Recent Theses
-
Dynamics of Neural Field Models
Nikola Venkov (School of Mathematical Sciences, Nottingham)
In recent years significant progress has been made in understanding
the brain electrodynamics using mathematical techniques. At the level
of neural tissue brain cortex could be represented as a
two-dimensional sheet of densely interconnected neurons. A suitable
mathematical description in this context are integro-differential
nonlinear equations called neural field models. We study the
capability of these models to exhibit complex spatio-temporal
dynamics. To this end we adapt techniques developed for the analysis
of nonlinear PDEs. We focus on the class ofmodels including
space-dependent delays. Delays arise due to the finite propagation
speed of information along the axon, or the diffusive nature of
propagation in the dendritic tree. In the first part of the Thesis we
develop the analysis of Turing-type pattern formation in one
dimension. Thanks to the delay mechanism patterns can be dynamic:
global oscillation, travelling or standing waves. We use multiple
scales analysis to derive the normal form of the bifurcation. We
obtain the mean-field Ginzburg-Landau equations. We establish the
parameter windows of various dynamical regimes and secondary
instabilities. In the second part, we look at neural fields defined
over two spatial dimensions, again including delays. We propose a
method for constructing PDE systems that approximate the dynamics but
are far easier to solve numerically. We also consider pattern
formation in a model with anisotropic 'patchy' connectivity, in view
of the novel concept for the crystalline micro-structure of
neocortex. We complete the Thesis with some results about 1D localised
solutions (bumps) which are analogs of autosolitons in
reaction-diffusion systems. We clarify the scope of validity of the
Amari method for establishing bump stability. For a solution composed
of a number of bumps interacting weakly, we derive reduced equations
of motion which govern the bumps' positions.
-
Dynamics in the Hopf bundle, the geometric phase and implications for dynamical systems
Rupert Way (Department of Mathematics, University of Surrey)
Jobs
Meetings, Conferences and Events
-
Noise in Life 2009
- INI Cambridge. 30 Mar - 1 Apr
-
Nonlinear and Stochastic Systems in Biology
- Leeds. 30 Mar - 1 Apr
-
Workshop on the mathematics of weather and climate prediction
- Met Office, Exeter. 30 Mar - 3 Apr
-
Inaugural Meeting of the
Nonlinear and Complexity Physics Group
- Manchester. 1-2 Apr
-
Nonlinear Differential Equations, Integrability and Applications
- Cape Town, South Africa. 19-26 April 2009
-
Workshop on Numerics in Dynamical Systems
- Helsinki, Finland. 23-25 Apr
-
PANDA: Patterns, Nonlinear Dynamics and Applications
Patterns in Complexity
- Leeds. 27 Apr
-
Numerical bifurcation analysis of dynamical systems
- Milan, Italy. 6- May
-
Variational and Topological Methods and Water Waves
- Bath. 14-16 May
-
Nonlinear
Evolution Equations and Dynamical Systems (NEEDS)
- Isola Rossa, Italy. 16-23 May
-
SIAM Conference on Applications of Dynamical Systems
- Snowbird, Utah, USA. 17-21 May
-
Adaptive dynamics
- Milan, Italy. 21-23 May
-
2009 International Conference on Scientific Computation and Differential Equations
(SciCADE09)
- Beijing, China 25-29 May
-
Dynamics, topology and computations
- Bedlewo, Poland. 31 May - 6 Jun
-
CHAOS2009
- Chania, Crete, Greece. 1-5 Jun
-
Trends in Bifurcation Analysis: Methods and Applications
- Milan, Italy. 3-5 Jun
-
Global Dynamics and Applications
- Exeter. 15 Jun
-
9th International Conference on
Mathematical and Numerical Aspects of Waves Propagation
- Pau, France. 15-19 Jun
-
PANDA: Modelling in biology
- Surrey. 16 Jun
-
Resonance Oscillations and Stability of Nonsmooth Systems
- Imperial College London. 16-25 Jun
-
CHAOS09: Analysis and Control of Chaotic Systems
- Queen Mary, University of London. 22-24 Jun
-
3rd
International Conference on Complex Systems and Applications
- Le Havre, France. 29 Jun - 2 Jul
-
Physics and Mechanics of Biological Systems
- Les Houches. 6-31 Jul
-
Computational Methods for Soft Matter and Biological Systems
- Freiburg, Germany. 8-11 Jul
-
Localized Excitations in Nonlinear Complex Systems (LENCOS)
- Sevilla, Spain. 13-17 Jul
-
Complex Systems and Networks
- Bristol. 20-22 Jul
-
SMB Annual Meeting 2009
- Vancouver, Canada. 27-30 Jul
-
Stochastic processes and their applications
- Berlin, Germany. 27-31 Jul
-
Computational and Applied Mathematics & Applications in Science
and Engineering
- Athens, Georgia, USA. 3-7 Aug
-
Giant Fluctuations and Population dynamics
- Leiden, Netherlands. 3-7 Aug
-
Instabilities and Bifurcations in Fluid Mechanics
- Nottingham. 10-13 Aug
- Opening workshop,
SAMSI Program on Stochastic Dynamics
- North carolina, USA. 30 Aug-2 Sep
-
COMS2009
- Copenhagen, Denmark. 30 Aug - 4 Sep
-
Differential-Geometric Methods in Multibody Dynamics, Non-linear Dynamics and Control
- San Diego, USA. 31 Aug-2 Sep
-
Física Estadística (FISES)
- Huelva, Spain. 10-12 Sep
-
Direct Simulation Monte Carlo Workshop
- Santa Fe, New Mexico, 13-19 Sep
-
Dynamics in systems biology
- Aberdeen. 14-18 Sep
-
European Social Simulation Association
- Guilford. 14-18 Sep
-
7th International Conference of Numerical
Analysis and Applied Mathematics: ICNAAM 2009
- Rethymno, Crete, Greece, 18-22 Sep
-
CEDYA-XI
- Ciudad Real, Spain. 21-25 Sep
-
European Conference on Complex Systems: ECCS'09
- Warwick. 21-25 Sep
-
Engineered & Natural Complex Systems
- Toronto, Canada. 27-29 Sep
-
International Conference on
Complexity of Nonlinear Waves
- Institute of Cybernetics, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia, 5-7 Oct
-
XI Latin American Workshop on Nonlinear
Phenomena: LAWNP 2009
- Buzios, Brasil. 5-9 Oct
Publishers' Announcements
WWW addresses for Publishers
Journal News
-
To celebrate Nonlinearity's 20th anniversary, a series of Open
Problems articles was published in issues throughout 2008. These
short, commissioned articles present personal selections of
interesting and/or important problems and challenges, large and small,
from leaders in the field. We took great pleasure in inviting these
articles and our hope is that they will contribute to setting the
agenda for future research. You can read these articles for free
online
until the end of 2009 at
http://herald.iop.org/NONOPcom/m36/avh/link/2390.
-
Nonlinearity's high-profile articles of 2008 -
free to read
Issue Fifty five: June 2009
Issue Fifty five is scheduled for June 2009. Submission of news
(new courses, meetings, conferences, new appointments, jobs, new
research directions etc.), comments or articles about any aspect of
nonlinearity in the UK are very welcome and should arrive by 13
June 2009.
|