Coffee served at 3:30pm in WID room 3280, Presentation starts at 4:00pm

Anyone without WID access can use the special event elevator on the WID 1^st floor (near ALDO Café) to access the 3^rd floor teaching lab

Speaker: Jean-Luc Thiffeault

Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics, UW-Madison

Presentation Title:

Topological optimization

Abstract:

Topological chaos is a type of chaotic behavior that is 'forced' by the motion of obstacles in some domain.  I will review two topological approaches, with applications in particular to stirring and mixing in fluid dynamics.  The first approach involves constructing systems such that the fluid motion is topologically complex, usually by imposing a specific motion of rods.  I will then discuss optimization strategies that can be implemented.  The second approach is diagnostic, where flow characteristics are deduced from observations of periodic or random orbits and their topological properties.