Bath Applied and Interdisciplinary Mathematics Seminar - upcoming
Join us at AIMS on Tuesdays at 13.15 at 1W 3.103. All are welcome!
| Date | Speaker | Title |
| 3 Feb 2026 | Alexander Wray (University of Strathclyde) |
Electrostatic control of the Navier-Stokes equations
Multiphase flows are ubiquitous in nature and industry, and controlling them has applications everywhere from carbon sequestration to medical diagnostics. As a consequence, control has seen an ever-increasing focus in the field of fluid dynamics. Unfortunately, inverse problems of this type are typically extremely computationally costly, and most existing studies have focussed on single phase flows which admit convenient bases on which to project suitable reduced dimensional models. Multi-phase studies have typically confined their focus to lubrication-type equations, which have limited applicability. Here the more complex problem of free-surface flow down an inclined plane is examined, simulated using the volume-of-fluid open-source solver Basilisk. Control is implemented via a high-fidelity reduced order model using a projection method akin to the Method of Weighted Residuals, and using a Model Predictive Control loop to control the direct numerical simulation with judicious use of the model. Actuation is achieved via imposing a spatiotemporally-varying electric potential on an electrode parallel to the substrate. The model is investigated in detail, demonstrating a high degree of accuracy even into the short-wave regime. The control mechanism is shown to be applicable to both uniform and non-uniform target states, and the efficacy of the model predictive control loop is investigated across a wide variety of parameters. We also briefly examine the application of similar control techniques to other continuum systems. |
| 10 Feb 2026 | Susana Gomes (University of Warwick) |
Modelling and control of opinion dynamics on evolving networks
The field of opinion dynamics has recently seen a large interest in the mathematics community, both from modelling and control perspectives. Most works focus on the Hegselmann-Krause model, a widely used bounded confidence model, and typical control strategies aim to steer a system towards consensus (or make it so more quickly) by using controls that act directly on agents. In this talk, I will propose a novel type of control based on adaptive networks: I will introduce recent work on co-evolving networks (i.e. a dynamical system where the underlying network evolves at the same time as, and influenced by, the individuals’ opinions) and how to control the network system in such a way that the opinion dynamics moves to consensus or other desired states. I will present various control strategies and analyse under which conditions opinions can or cannot be steered towards a given target, then corroborate and extend our analytical results with computational experiments and a study of optimal controls. I will highlight the advantages and disadvantages of each approach, as well as propose several directions for future research. If time permits, I will also discuss recent work on introducing ageing effects, which allows us to explore the mean-field limit and long time behaviour of these models, beyond just reaching consensus. |
| 24 Feb 2026 | Marie-Therese Wolfram (University of Warwick) |
TBD
TBD |
| 3 Mar 2026 | Alexandra Tzella (University of Birmingham) |
Boundary conditions for active Brownian particles
TBD |
| 10 Mar 2026 | Draga Pihler-Puzovic (University of Manchester) |
Exploring instabilities in slender structure: what does soft microfluidics have to do with "soda forming"?
The beauty of mechanics is that it work on multiple scales and often links disparate phenomena which appear to have little in common with each other. In this talks, we explore two types of buckling in thin cylinder-like structures, that of interest in fields as diverse as bacterial growth and rocket launching. First, we show the effect of inflation on the swelling-induced wrinkling of thin elastic membranes. Using a combination of experiments and modelling, we demonstrate that such inflation can be used as a control mechanism in the manufacture of patterned microchannels in lab-on-chip applications. Next, we study compression of a beverage can, mostly filled with a liquid. When uniaxially compressed empty cylinders buckle, they typically form periodic structures that break both axial and radial symmetry. By contrast, our liquid-filled cylinders buckle axisymmetrically. The resulting ring buckles are localised and appear sequentially, eventually filling the entire can surface. The final periodic pattern has a predictable wavelength that scales with the shell thickness and radius, following the same scaling observed in the microfluidics channels. However, the fine details of these pattern formation phenomena are driven by very different nonlinear dynamics. |
| 17 Mar 2026 | Calum Skene (University of Edinburgh) |
TBD
TBD |
| 24 Mar 2026 | Debasish Das (University of Strathclyde) |
Effect of electrohydrodynamic interactions and surfactants on drop dynamics subject to electric fields.
When a leaky dielectric drop is suspended in another weakly conducting fluid and subjected to a uniform DC electric field, it polarizes, generating tangential electric stresses that drive fluid motion inside and outside the drop. The presence of a second drop introduces long-range electrohydrodynamic (EHD) interactions via dielectrophoretic forces and induced flows, fundamentally altering the dynamics. In this work, I present a nonlinear three-dimensional small-deformation theory for a pair of identical, widely separated, nearly spherical leaky dielectric drops. Valid in the regime of high surface tension, high viscosity ratio, and large separation, the model is the first within the Taylor–Melcher framework to incorporate both transient charge relaxation and charge convection. It captures the spontaneous symmetry-breaking transition to Quincke rotation observed in experiments in strong fields. The model recovers prior results for isolated drops and interacting solid spheres in appropriate limits and agrees quantitatively with previous experiments. It also captures the hysteresis in the onset of Quincke rotation for single drops and shows that, for two drops, the transition is qualitatively modified by EHD interactions and straining flows unique to drops. I will also present recent results on how surfactants can modify drop dynamics in electric fields and affect the supercritical pitchfork bifurcation that leads to Quincke rotation. |
| 14 Apr 2026 | James Sprittles (University of Warwick) |
TBD
TBD |
| 28 Apr 2026 | Igor Chernayavsky (University of Manchester) |
TBD
TBD |
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