Digest of the Non Linear Science Network, Volume 08, Number 15 August 15, 2008 Editor: Angel Jorba Topics: Waves 2009 Conference Postdoc on Growth of water waves at Technion-Israel Postdoc in Applied Math, University of Graz PhD position Modelling solar wind interaction with Mars and Venus Now online: A special issue in honour of Darryl D Holm's 60th birthday Submissions to nls-net must be addressed to: Comments and suggestions are also welcome. General information about nls-net can be found at: http://www.maia.ub.es/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nls-net/ This is a service created and maintained in collaboration with the American Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) http://www.aimsciences.org/ ------ Subject: Waves 2009 Conference From: Julien Diaz Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2008 06:02:52 -0400 Dear Colleague, We are pleased to inform you that the 9th International Conference on Mathematical and Numerical Aspects of Waves Propagation (Waves 2009) will be held at Pau on June 15th-19th. This conference is one of the main venues where significant advances in the analysis and computational modeling of wave phenomena and exciting new applications are presented. Conference themes include but are not limited to forward and inverse scattering, nonlinear wave phenomena, fast computational techniques, numerical analysis, absorbing layers and approximate boundary conditions, analytic and semi-analytic techniques for wave problems, domain decomposition, guided waves, random media etc. Please visit conference web-site https://waves-2009.bordeaux.inria.fr to get more information. You may subscribe to our newsletter by sending an email to sympa@inria.fr with subject "SUBSCRIBE waves09". We look forward to see you in June 2009. The organizing committee. ------ Subject: Postdoc on Growth of water waves at Technion-Israel From: "Prof. M. Stiassnie" Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 15:29:25 -0400 Post-doctoral Scholarship sponsored by Technion-Israel Institute of Technology Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Title: Spatial and/or temporal growth of water waves in a wind-wave flume Prof. Michael Stiassnie is seeking a suitable qualified researcher to undertake Post-Doctoral study to develop a theoretical model for the growth of water-waves in a wind-wave flume, under his supervision. About Technion: For more than eight decades, the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, which is located in Haifa, has been Israel's primary technological university and the largest center of applied research. It is ranked among the leading technological universities in the world. The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering has 60 senior faculty members active in research and education, and they currently supervise the education of ~900 undergraduate students, ~240 master degree students, ~85 doctor students, and ~10 post-doctoral researchers. Project Abstract: The importance of adequate description of interaction of wind with ocean waves cannot be overestimated, both on the global level of earth climate, and on a more local level of the necessity to predict the sea state for practical operation of off-shore and near-shore facilities. The goal of this study is to gain a better understanding of the dominant phenomena that determine the growth of waves under the effect of wind in a laboratory flume. This will enable us to offer better modeling of wind-wave growth rate. To attain this goal, it is crucial to realize that as water waves are affected by wind, the wind velocity profile in the vicinity of air-water interface is strongly affected by the waves. Detailed measurements of the air and water flow field in a laboratory wind- wave flume and of the spatial and/or temporal evolution of the wave field will be carried out by a partner team, lead by Prof. Lev Shemer at the Tel- Aviv University. The experimental results will be compared with new computations based on the solution of the Orr-Sommerfeld equation for the experimentally determined air and water velocity profiles. Such a comparison will lead to critical assessment of the underlying model assumptions and to introduction of appropriate modifications. It is expected that an iterative experimental-theoretical process will lead to a better understanding of the physics of air-water flow interaction, in particular of the wind-wave growth mechanism, and as a result to a more accurate theoretical description of this process. Selection Criteria 1. Ph.D. degree related to fluid-mechanics, obtained not earlier than 31.12.2005 (essential) 2. Strong analytical and mathematical skills (essential) 3. A good working knowledge of programming (desirable) 4. A good knowledge of English (desirable) 5. Experience in water-waves related research (advantage) Commencement Date January 2009 or earlier Scholarship U.S. $ 28,000 per annum, tax exempt Duration: one or two years Application and Contact Professor Michael Stiassnie Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Division of Environmental, Water and Agricultural Engineering Technion-Israel Institute of Technology Haifa 32000, Israel Tel: +972-4-8293361 ; Fax: +972-4-8228898 e-mail: miky@tx.technion.ac.il http://www.technion.ac.il/~cee/stiassnie ------ Subject: Postdoc in Applied Math, University of Graz From: Michael Hintermueller Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2008 04:16:24 -0400 The START-Project `Interfaces and Free Boundaries' (directed by M. Hintermueller) hosted at the Karl Franzens University of Graz (Austria) invites applications for a POST-DOC Position in Applied Mathematics. We are looking for a young scientist holding a PhD in Applied Mathematics or Scientific Computing with specialization in at least one of the fields: large scale or PDE-constrained optimization, variational inequalities, shape or topology optimization, mathematical image processing. The START-project is based on a scientific award by the Austrian Ministry of Education, Science and Culture administered by the Austrian Science Fund FWF. Besides applied mathematics, the START-Project also has a strong component in computational science focusing on the numerical realization of algorithms in various applications. For a more detailed description see the web page http://www.uni-graz.at/imawww/ifb/. Also, the post-doc is invited to cooperate with the special research group on `Mathematical Optimization and Applications in Biomedical Sciences' (http://math.uni-graz.at/mobis/). The salary follows the rules of the Austrian National Science Foundation FWF (approximately brutto EUR 42368/year). Please send your application by email to michael.hintermueller@uni-graz.at. Your email should contain a pdf file as an attachment with the following information: * Curriculum Vitae (CV), * a short description of your qualifications and experience (publications, theses), * a letter describing concisely your scientific interests, * names and email-addresses of at least two scientists willing to provide a reference. Ao. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Michael Hintermueller, Institute for Mathematics and Scientific Computing, University of Graz, Heinrichstr. 36, A-8010 Graz, Austria; tel.: + 43 316 380 5076, Fax: + 43 316 380 9818. ------ Subject: PhD position Modelling solar wind interaction with Mars and Venus From: Mats Holmstrom Date: Wed, 06 Aug 2008 08:48:36 +0200 The Swedish Institute of Space Physics in Kiruna invites applications for a PhD student position. The National Graduate School of Space Technology (at Lulea University of Technology) will support the position financially for a period of up to 5 years. The successful applicant will be a member of the Solar Systems Physics and Space Technology programme (SSPT) at the Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Kiruna. More information about our research can be found at http://www.irf.se/program/sspt. The programme is a leading European group in the field of space plasma instrumentation and space plasma physics. The programme is currently participating in the ESA missions Mars Express, Venus Express, Rosetta and Bepi Colombo, as well as the Indian mission Chandrayaan-1 and the Russian Mars mission Phobos-Grunt. The programme's scientists are active in the areas of instrument development, space plasma simulations and data analysis. The goal of the project is to increase our understanding of the interaction between the solar wind and planets, and its effect on planetary evolution. The focus is on the interaction between the solar wind and the unmagnetized planets Mars and Venus. The tool for this is world leading computer simulations of the interaction between the solar wind and planets, coupled with analysis of in-situ observations by our ASPERA instruments at Mars and Venus. A detailed description of the project can be found at http://sspt.irf.se/Members/matsh/tmp/matsh-foskol08-info.pdf (PDF file). A prerequisite is a diploma or masters degree in physics, or in computer science with physics knowledge. All of the projects within the programme are international and thus excellent skills in English are required. The application should include: Ref no. 134-129/08, a personal letter, CV, copies of diplomas and grades, name and contact information for two referees (people who know your capabilities), and other relevant certificates and documents, for example regarding previous employment. It can be sent electronically to registrator@irf.se, or by mail to Registrator, Swedish Institute of Space Physics, P.O. Box 812, SE-981 28 Kiruna. Review of applications will start on 2008-09-01 and continue until the position is filled. For further information contact Ass. Prof. (Docent) Mats Holmstrom, (mats.holmstrom@irf.se). ------ Subject: Now online: A special issue in honour of Darryl D Holm's 60th birthday From: Chinh Dinh Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:55:53 +0100 Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical is pleased to publish a special issue in honour of Darryl D Holm?s 60th birthday. To read this issue for free, visit this link: http://herald.iop.org/JPAD2HFestNLSNet/m128/cid//link/1867