Ostoja-Starzewski appointed Fellow at Isaac Newton Institute

Professor Martin Ostoja-Starzewski has been appointed as a Rothschild Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences at the University of Cambridge.

Ostoja-Starzewski will spend next summer participating in the program, “Uncertainty quantification and stochastic modelling of materials,” focusing on the central challenge in predicting the deformation or damage to soft manufactured and natural materials (e.g. plants, brain tissue, or 3D printing composites)—which is that commonly used mathematical modelling approaches do not account for the range in experimental data. These deterministic models may therefore misrepresent the location and extent of the deformation or damage.

Stochastic methods provide a way to account for the uncertainties and can significantly improve predictions. However, the application of stochastic modeling to material deformation remains largely unexplored. A key aim of this program is to bring together international experts and young researchers interested in methodological advances and applications of uncertainty quantification to the stochastic modelling of materials.

The research program is at the interface between fundamental and applied continuum mechanics, statistics, and probabilities. The focus will be on stochastic methods in material modeling, covering primarily probabilistic techniques, identification methodologies, and validation strategies for finite- and infinite-dimensional non-Gaussian representations, and on cross-disciplinary discussions and research. One of the key aspects of the program will be the application of these techniques to multiple scientific disciplines in mechanics, biomedical engineering, soft matter, and computer science.

Ostoja-Starzewski will participate in a week-long summer school where experts in uncertainty quantification and stochastic modelling, biomechanics, and active materials will introduce their fields at a basic level. This will serve as a starting point for cross-disciplinary discussions and research for the remaining weeks. It is hoped that this program will establish a scientific community at the interface between probability/stochastic methods and soft matter and support rapid advancements in this emerging field over the next decade.

The Isaac Newton Institute (INI) is a national and international visitor research institute. It runs research programs on selected themes in mathematics and the mathematical sciences with applications over a wide range of science and technology. It attracts leading mathematical scientists from the UK and overseas to interact in research over an extended period.

INI has a vital national role, building on many strengths that already exist in UK universities, aiming to generate a new vitality through stimulating and nurturing research throughout the country. During each scientific program new collaborations are made and ideas and expertise are exchanged and catalyzed through lectures, seminars and informal interaction, which the INI building has been designed specifically to encourage.