Fall 2026
Time & Location: Typically talks will be in Gibson Hall 126-A at 3:00 pm on a Friday.
Organizers: Guido Mazzuca
September 04, 2026
Applied and Computational
Title: Passive Scalar Mixing -- The Batchelor Scale
Speaker: Robin Chemnitz - Tulane University
Abstract: When pouring some milk into hot tea, the milk forms increasingly filamented patterns before eventually becoming a uniform blend of milky tea. Mathematically, this process is modelled by the advection-diffusion equation. It is conjectured that the filementations of a passive scalar (the milk) get smaller and smaller until they reach a specific lenghscale, the Batchelor scale, at which point the cascade halts. In this talk, passive scalar advection and the Batchelor scale are introduced and we provide a simple stochastic fluid model for which the Batchelor scale conjecture can be verified.
Time: 3:00 PM
Location: Gibson Hall 126-A
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September 11, 2026
Applied and Computational
Title: Computational approximation theory on higher-genus domains
Speaker: Cade Ballew - Tulane University
Abstract: We develop computational approximation theory on higher-genus domains, finite unions of disjoint subintervals of the real axis that arise naturally in orthogonal polynomial theory, iterative numerical linear algebra, and the study of integrable nonlinear wave equations. In each case, exploiting this underlying structure to choose appropriate basis functions (orthogonal polynomials) is essential to obtain a fast and accurate numerical method. A unifying theme is the numerical solution of Riemann--Hilbert problems on these domains.
Time: 3:00 PM
Location: Gibson Hall 126-A
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September 18, 2026
Applied and Computational
Title: Computational Methods for Dynamic Interface Problems and Their Applications
Speaker: Zengyan Zhang - Tulane University
Abstract: Dynamic interface models arise in many physical and biological systems, including phase separation, multiphase flows, and cell and tissue dynamics. Their numerical simulation presents challenges in preserving underlying physical structures, reducing computational complexity, and accurately representing complex evolving geometries. In this talk, I will present structure-preserving numerical methods for phase-field models, structure-preserving reduced-order models for thermodynamically consistent PDEs, and geometric numerical methods for free-boundary problems, together with applications to biological systems.
Time: 3:00 PM
Location: Gibson Hall 126-A
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