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Colloquium September 1

Date: Friday September 1

Time: 16:00 to 17:00

Place: 455 McBryde (Commons Room)

Speaker: Eric de Sturler of the Math Dept

Title: Large-scale numerical simulation for analysis and design

Party at University Club at 8p.m.

Abstract

Large-scale numerical simulation is becoming an indispensable tool for understanding and analyzing processes in engineering, physics, chemistry, biology, and medicine. In addition, simulation more and more helps us to optimize complex processes and designs. The fast solution and optimization of very large linear and nonlinear algebraic systems is an important aspect of such simulations, since these usually requires by far the most time and memory. Looking at a range of applications, such as designing structures and advanced materials, tomography, computer graphics, and simulations involving uncertainty quantification, we will introduce and discuss some of the central issues of efficient and robust linear and nonlinear solvers and optimization methods. Finally, we will discuss the Quantum Monte Carlo method for computing materials properties. For these problems the dimensionality of the problem precludes directly modeling accurately all forces and possible configurations, and we need either significant simplifications or we have to resort to stochastic methods. We will see that in such problems the methods discussed earlier (and other unsuspected numerical analysis methods) can play a fundamental role.


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