NSF/CBMS REGIONAL CONFERENCE
WATER WAVES: THEORY and EXPERIMENT
Howard University, Washington, DC (USA)
May 13-18, 2008
Principal Speaker:
Professor Harvey Segur from the University of Colorado, Colorado (USA)
The Special lecture notes of Prof. Harvey Segur coauthored with Prof. Diane Henderson from
Penn State University, PA will be published by CBMS.
Organizer/PI: Prof. M.F. Mahmood Department of Mathematics, Howard University, Washington DC (USA) mmahmood@howard.edu
Summary:
The theory of water waves is appealing as a concrete prototype of a nontrivial dynamical system: the system of partial differential equations is nonlinear, and its phase space is infinite-dimensional. If we neglect dissipation, then it is also Hamiltonian. It exhibits naturally several concepts that have been developed in nonlinear dynamics and nonlinear wave propagation: linear and nonlinear instabilities, deterministic chaos, resonant triad and quartet interactions, solitons and complete integrability. Both deterministic and statistical approximations of water waves have been used fruitfully. Best of all, we can observe these concepts in physical experiments that can be carried out without much special equipment. The objective of this lecture series is to introduce new researchers to this rich dynamical system, and to show how (some) abstract mathematical concepts can be applied fruitfully in a practical physical problem. By coordinating well-designed laboratory experiments with lecture series, we hope to make connection between theory and experiment concrete. We will also identify some open questions as they arise along the way.
Professor Segur has established himself as a research leader in the last 25 years by many fundamental research contributions. He has written 3 books, over 75 articles and has given many invited lectures at conferences, seminars and workshops. Prof. Segur is an excellent lecturer and expositor. Prof. Segur will deliver 10 lectures on aspects of the mathematical theory of water waves, and show experimental results when they are appropriate. In addition, Diane Henderson (Prof. of Mathematics, Penn State) will prepare a series of hands-on experiments that will be used in a temporary laboratory. The experiments will be designed to support and complement the lectures. Professor Segur will present some of the major directions in research in nonlinear partial differential equations. The content of the lectures will correspond to the spirit of the NSF-CBMS regional research conference aimed at both the new and recent entrants in the area, including post-doctoral fellows and graduate students in pure and applied mathematics, and established researchers in the field.
There are government laboratories in the greater Washington area with strong interest in water waves. Bringing some of the experts at those labs into the conference would allow students to explore possible job opportunities, and would allow participants at the conference to see how practitioners in the subject work in real life. The labs include NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, The David Taylor Model Basin, and NOAA’s National Center for Environmental Prediction in Camp Springs, MD. NOAA/NCEP (operational models of water wave prediction) will also be among the participants for the conference.
Other speakers include:
James Duncan (Univ. of Maryland), J. Douglas Wright (Drexel Univ.), Robert A. Dalrymple (Johns Hopkins Univ.), Demetrius Papageorgiou (New Jersey Inst. of Technology), Fabrice Vernon (University of Delaware),
Nathaniel Whitaker (Univ. of Massachusetts), Tadmore Eitan (Univ. of Maryland), Shu-Ming Sun (Virginia Tech), Hendrik Tolman (NOAA-NCEP), Amal El Moghraby (Bennett College), Sean Brooks (Coppin State College), Harry Yeh (Oregon), Alfonso Castro (Harvey Mudd
College), David Levermore (Univ. of Maryland), James Kirby (Univ. of Delaware), Min Chen (Purdue Univ.), Greg Eyink (Johns Hopkins Univ.), Steve Shkoller (Univ. of California/Davis)
Financial Assistance:
Limited funds are available to support participants. Priorities will be given to graduate students and selected researchers. Please register early to get full consideration.
Note: All talks will be scheduled from May 13 through noon May 18.
Campus Housing will be available for the nights of May 13 thru May 17, 2008.
Mathematics Department (Howard University)