Mathematics Graduate Student Colloquium

MGSC Website: http://math.uci.edu/~mgsc/

Can mathematics help us understand the motion of fluids?

Adam Larios
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
4:00 pm - 4:50 pm
RH440R

Talk Abstract:

One of the most difficult problems in mathematics and physics is to find an accurate, practical description of turbulent flows. Turbulence is ubiquitous in nature, occurring in very diverse physical settings, such as aerodynamics, geophysics, weather and climate modeling, ocean and atmospheric flows, star formation, blood flow in the heart, and many others. This problem is not only untenable by current mathematical tools, but direct numerical simulation of detailed turbulent flows has proven to be computationally prohibitive, even using the most powerful state-of-the-art computers. A major piece of the puzzle of understanding these phenomena is widely believed to lie in a system of nonlinear PDEs known as the Navier-Stokes equations, which are the subject of one of the seven $1,000,000 Clay Millennium Prize problems. I will discuss give an introduction to the Navier-Stokes equations and discuss their relationship to turbulence and the Millennium problem.

About the Speaker:

Adam swing dances with the best of them.

Refreshments:

Pizza will be served after the talk.