Thomas P Witelski, Professor

Contact Info:

Office Location:	295 Physics
Office Phone:	00-1-(919) 660-2841
Email Address:
Web Page:	http://www.math.duke.edu/~witelski

Office Hours:

Fall 2011 times: Tuesdays 11:00am-2:00pm or other times by email request

Education:

PhD, Applied Math	Caltech	1995
BS in Engineering	Cooper Union	1991
Diploma	Stuyvesant High School	1987

Specialties:

Applied Math

Research Interests: Fluid Dynamics, Perturbation Methods, Asymptotic Analysis, Nonlinear Ordinary and Partial differential equations

My primary area of expertise is the solution of nonlinear ordinary and partial differential equations via perturbation methods. Using asymptotics along with a mixture of other applied mathematical techniques in analysis and scientific computing I study a broad range of applications in physical systems. Focuses of my work include problems in viscous fluid flow, dynamical systems, and industrial applications. Through my research I am working to extend the understanding of nonlinear diffusion processes in physical systems. Studying problems in a range of different fields has given me a unique opportunity to interact with a diverse set of collaborators and to transfer analytic techniques across the traditional boundaries that separate fields.

Areas of Interest:

Fluid dynamics
Partial differential equations
Asymptotics/Perturbation methods
Industrial and Applied mathematics

Current Ph.D. Students   (Former Students)

• Harrison D. Potter  

Postdocs Mentored

• Rachel Levy (July, 2005 - June, 2007)  
• Anne Catlla (2005 - 2008)  
• Anand Jayaraman (September 1, 2004 - August 15, 2005)  
• Sandra Wieland (January 1, 2004 - December, 2004)  
• Linda Smolka (April 8, 2002 - July 1, 2004)  
• Karl Glasner (2001/12-2002/05)  
• Mark Bowen (2000/03-2001/12)  

Undergraduate Research Supervised

• Veronica Ciocanel (May, 2010 - present)
  2012 Faculty Scholar, Honorable mention 
• Jeremy Semko (May, 2009 - May, 2010)
  Thesis: Statistical Analysis of Simulations of Coarsening Droplets Coating a Hydrophobic Surface 
• Lingren Zhang (July, 2006 - September, 2006)
  Thesis: The Motion of Sets of Vortices
  Undergraduate summer research 
• Qinzheng Tian (July, 2005 - September, 2005)
  Thesis: Simulation of Newtonian fluid fluid between rotating cylinders
  Undergraduate summer research 

Recent Publications   (More Publications)

1. T.P. Witelski, D. Ambrose, A. Bertozzi, A. Layton, ZL. Li, M. Minion, Preface: special issue on fluid dynamics, analysis and numerics, Discrete and Continuous Dynamical Systems Series B, vol. 17 no. 4 (June, 2012), pp. i-ii
2. C. Breward, E. Aydemir, T.P. Witelski, The effect of polar lipids on tear film dynamics, Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, vol. 73 (2011), pp. 1171-1201 [doi]
3. A.J.Bernoff and T.P. Witelski, Stability and dynamics of self-similarity in evolution equations, Journal of Engineering Mathematics, vol. 66 no. 1-3 (March, 2010), pp. 11-31, ISSN 1573-2703 [s10665-009-9309-8]
4. T.P. Witelski, The subtle art of blowing bubbles (News and Views: Fluid Dynamics), Nature Physics, vol. 5 (May, 2009), pp. 315-316 (doi:10.1038/nphys1265.) [=NDgyMTgzMzQS1&mt=1&rt=0]
5. H.-J. Hwang and T.P. Witelski, Short-time Pattern formation in thin film equations, Discrete and Continuous Dynamical Systems A, vol. 23 no. 3 (March, 2009), pp. 867-885, ISSN 1078-0947 (doi: 10.3934/dcds.2009.23.867.) [displayArticles.jsp]

Recent Grant Support

• FRG: Collaborative Research: Dynamics of Thin Liquid Films: Mathematics and Experiments, NSF #0968252, 2010/06-2013/05.      
• CAREER Award, NSF, 2003/09.      

Conferences Organized

• BIRS workshop 12w5035: Thin liquid films and fluid interfaces: models, experiments and applications, organizing committee, December 9, 2012 - December 14, 2012  
• Graduate Student Mathematical Modeling Camp 2011 (GSMMC), Faculty Mentor, June 11, 2011 - June 12, 2011  
• Dynamics Days 2011, member of organizing committee, January 5, 2011 - January 8, 2011  
• FAN2010: Fluid dynamics, Analysis and Numerics (A conference in honor of Thomas Beale), Chair, organizing committee, June 28, 2010 - June 30, 2010  
• 2nd UK Graduate Modelling Camp, Faculty mentor/problem presenter, April 6, 2010 - April 9, 2010  
• CTMS Workshop: Theory and Applications of Multiscale Modeling, member of organizing committee, September 11, 2009 - September 12, 2009  
• SIAM 2009 Annual meeting, MS65/MS76 Contemporary Applications of Perturbation and Asymptotic Methods I/II, Minisymposium sessions co-organizer, July 9, 2009 - July 10, 2009  
• Graduate Student Mathematical Modeling Camp 2009, Faculty Mentor, June 9, 2009 - June 12, 2009  
• Euromech 490 Workshop: Dynamics and Stability of thin liquid films and slender jets, Organising Committee, September 19, 2007 - September 21, 2007  
• Third Annual Graduate Student Mathematical Modeling Camp, Faculty Mentor, June 6, 2006 - June 9, 2006  
• UCLA-IPAM-NSF workshop on Thin Films and Fluid Interfaces, Organizing Committee, January 30, 2006 - February 2, 2006  
• First Annual Graduate Student Mathematical Modeling Camp, Faculty Mentor, June 15, 2004 - June 18, 2004  
• Dynamics Days 2004, Local Organizing Committee + Webmaster, January 2004  
• Nonlinear dynamics of thin films and fluid interfaces, Organizing Committee Member, November-December 2003  
• Nonlinear Differential Equations, Mechanics and Bifurcation 2002: A conference in honor of David G. Schaeffer, Member of organizing committee, 2001-02  
• Minisymposium MS1:Instabilities and Breakdown of Asymptotic Models in Continuum Mechanics, SIAM Conference on Materials Science 2000, Co-Organizer, with Mary Pugh (U-Penn), May 2000  

• Journal of Engineering Mathematics
• Discrete and Continuous Dynamical Systems B
• European Journal of Applied Mathematics
• Journal of Mathematical Analysis and Applications

• Research on fluid dynamics of thin viscous films

• Mathematical Problems in Industry Workshop
  

• Scientific Computing and Applied Mathematics
• Applied Math Web Resources guide

• myX: a simple C/C++ programming interface for X11 graphics

• As seen on RateMyProfessors.com
• Tom's favorite integral