Seminars and Colloquia by Series

Scientific Computing in the Movies and Beyond

Series
Frontiers of Science
Time
Monday, September 18, 2017 - 18:00 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Room 1005, Roger A. and Helen B. Krone Engineered Biosystems Building (EBB)
Speaker
Joseph M. TeranUCLA Math
New applications of scientific computing for solid and fluid mechanics problems include simulation of virtual materials in movie special effects and virtual surgery. Both disciplines demand physically realistic dynamics for materials like water, smoke, fire, and soft tissues. New algorithms are required for each area. Teran will speak about the simulation techniques required in these fields and will share some recent results including: simulated surgical repair of biomechanical soft tissues; extreme deformation of elastic objects with contact; high resolution incompressible flow; and clothing and hair dynamics. He will also discuss a new algorithm used for simulating the dynamics of snow in Disney’s animated feature film, “Frozen”.More information at https://www.math.gatech.edu/hg/item/594422

3D shadows: casting light on the fourth dimension

Series
Frontiers of Science
Time
Thursday, October 27, 2016 - 19:30 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Student Success Center, Clary Theatre
Speaker
Henry SegermanOklahoma State University
Our brains have evolved in a three-dimensional environment, and so we are very good at visualising two- and three-dimensional objects. But what about four-dimensional objects? The best we can really do is to look at threedimensional "shadows". Just as a shadow of a three-dimensional object squishes it into the two-dimensional plane, we can squish a four-dimensional shape into three-dimensional space, where we can then makea sculpture of it. If the four-dimensional object isn't too complicated and we choose a good way to squish it, then we can get a very good sense of what it is like. We will explore the sphere in four-dimensional space, thefour-dimensional polytopes (which are the four-dimensional versions of the three-dimensional polyhedra), and various 3D printed sculptures, puzzles, and virtual reality experiences that have come from thinking about thesethings.