Special Semester on
Multiscale Simulation & Analysis in Energy and the Environment

ÖAW Thema des Monats

to be held at the
Johann Radon Institute for Computational and Applied Mathematics (RICAM)
Linz, October 3-December 16, 2011

Overview

Technological advances have greatly improved our quality of life. However, they bring with them a huge surge in energy requirements which in turn puts at risk our entire bio-sphere. It is of paramount importance to predict these risks and to develop better solutions for the future. One of the central tasks is the accurate simulation of multiphase flow above and under ground. The risk analysis and uncertainty quantification, as well as the assimilation of data require statistical tools and efficient solvers for stochastic and deterministic PDEs as well as for the associated inverse problems. The key features that make it extremely hard to predict these physical phenomena accurately are the multiple time and length scales that arise, as well as the lack of and uncertainty in data. Because of the highly varying scales involved, the resolution of all scales is currently impossible even on the largest supercomputers. While there is a fairly long history of empirically successful robust computational techniques for certain multiscale problems, the rigorous (numerical) analysis of such methods is of extremely high current interest.

The goal of the special semester is to provide a stimulating environment for civil engineers, hydrologists, meteorologists and other environmental scientists to address together with mathematicians working at the cutting edge of rigorous numerical analysis for multiscale (direct and inverse) problems the emerging challenges in the quantitative assessment of the risks and uncertainties of atmospheric and subsurface flow, focusing in particular on

  • Simulation of Flow in Porous Media and Applications in Waste Management and CO2 Sequestration
  • Large-Scale Inverse Problems and Applications in the Earth Sciences
  • Data Assimilation and Multiscale Simulation in Atmospheric Flow
  • Wave Propagation and Scattering, Direct and Inverse Problems and Applications in Energy and the Environment
  • Multiscale Numerical Methods and their Analysis and Applications in Energy and the Environment
  • Stochastic Modelling of Uncertainty and Numerical Methods for Stochastic PDEs

Key aims of the program

  • To provide a stimulating research environment that will facilitate new collaborations and enable the outside participants and the local groups at the RICAM to make collaborative advances.
  • To discuss different methodologies and compare their advantages.
  • To encourage the transfer of results between specialists in different applications areas of multiscale methods, and to present important recent developments to a broader audience.
  • To bring together researchers working on direct, inverse and stochastic computational techniques and to encourage the transfer of ideas.
  • To provide intensive training for young researchers, in particular PhD students and postdocs working at the RICAM, in all aspects of multiscale simulation and analysis, as well as opportunities for them to meet and discuss their research with leading international experts.
  • To disseminate and encourage dissemination of the results through the Radon Series on Computational and Applied Mathematics and through publications in leading journals in mathematics and the application areas.

Downloads