Seminar by a professor of the University of Houston

On October 17, the Institute of Mathematics and Mathematical Modeling and the Department of Mathematics organized a seminar by Professor Maxim Olshansky at the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics, which was attended by the faculty of the department. Maxim Olshansky received his PhD from Moscow State University in 1996 and his second PhD in Mathematics from the Institute of Numerical Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2006. He is currently a professor of Mathematics at the University of Houston. He also holds the position of adjunct professor at Emory University. Until 2012, he was a professor in the Department of Mathematics and Mechanics at Moscow State University. His research interests are in the field of numerical analysis and scientific computing with an emphasis on applications to fluid problems, interface and free boundary problems, geometric partial differential equations, reduced-order modeling, and cardiovascular models. He has been awarded research prizes by several agencies in the USA, Russia and the European Union. Professor M. Olshansky is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Numerical Mathematics and a member of the editorial boards of the journals Computational Methods in Applied Mathematics and the European Journal of Mathematics.

The topic of the seminar was "Numerical analysis of surface fluids and modeling of lipid membranes". The talk was about the numerical analysis of systems of partial differential equations (PDEs) governing the motion of viscous material surfaces, the topic is motivated by continuum modeling of lateral organization in plasma membranes. Several systems of fluid and phase field equations defined on evolving surfaces were considered and some recent results on the well-posedness of such problems were discussed. The professor also presented a computational approach and numerical analysis for the obtained PDE systems. The methods are combined to provide a computationally tractable and thermodynamically consistent model describing the dynamics of a two-phase viscous layer. The final chapter demonstrated the ability of the model to predict lateral ordering in multicomponent vesicles of different lipid compositions.

After the workshop, Professor Maxim Olshansky announced that the University of Houston, where he works, is inviting students to study for a PhD. For students interested in applying, the application portal for Fall 2025 is now open. It is important to know that a minimum GPA of 3.0 is required for admission to the university, as well as satisfactory evidence of English proficiency. Application instructions and program information are available here.

This workshop highlighted the importance of an interdisciplinary approach and scientific collaboration to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In particular, the discussed topics of numerical analysis and modeling of liquids on surfaces are directly related to SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), contributing to the development of advanced mathematical methods and technologies that can be applied in engineering and biomedical research, as well as to SDG 4 (Quality Education), since collaboration with international universities, such as the University of Houston, creates new opportunities for scientific training and knowledge sharing.

Imanberdiyev Kanzharbek

Head of the Department of Mathematics