introduction
Our goal is to use mathematical and statistical techniques to deal with natural hazards and tackle environmental challenges, including issues from the forecasting of extreme weather events to carbon capture. Extreme natural hazards are a great societal problem, not only in underdeveloped countries, and are negatively affected by climate change. Their physics is poorly understood, and a lack of reliable statistics hinders risk assessment or identification of signatures of climate change. We will address the study of atmospheric and oceanic phenomena enhancing sub-seasonal predictability of weather events, and in particular their extremes. In a broader context, we will perform different statistical analysis of natural-hazard occurrence.
Tackling environmental challenges is this generation’s defining task (EC Green Deal 2020). One such challenge, holding global warming to 2°C, can only be achieved through the extraction of greenhouse gases and emission reductions, among others. A toxic free environment requires the removal of a multitude of contaminants. We will focus on topics related to the elimination of pollutants, including the removal of environmental contaminants such as C02, volatile organic compounds and pharmaceuticals via adsorption techniques, the role of green roofs and also the use of direct absorption solar cells.
research lines
Complex Systems
At the CRM Complex Systems Group, we focus on two major lines of research: one, natural disasters and meteorological phenomena, resulting from the complex activity of the Earth’s system, and the other, the structure of information in human communication, produced by the areas of the brain responsible for this and the relationship between the communicating agents. Regarding natural hazards, we study the occurrence patterns of earthquakes, forest fires, hurricanes, rainfall, etc., with the idea that the statistical properties of these phenomena contain key information for their understanding, modelling and forecasting. In relation
Industrial Mathematics
The Industrial Mathematics group is currently contributing, in terms of research, primarily in the application of mathematics to the environment and nanotechnology. More traditional IM activities are not forgotten through the group’s involvement in international Study Groups. As well as publishing journal articles group members produced a book on practical applications of mathematics (Eds. F. Font, T. Myers) and the group leader submitted a book to CUP on novel moving boundary problems. The primary research topics dealt with by group members in 2021 included: column sorption, phase change, lensless imaging of nanoparticles, nanocrystal growth, nanoscale heat flow and other topics such as green roofs, clutch manufacture, spontaneous combustion, mask design and trade in rhino horn.to human communication, we concentrate both in both natural language and music. Again, we study occurrence patterns, this time of the symbols that constitute the texts or the musical composition, in order to better understand how these unique human characteristics work, and also to investigate whether machines could reproduce them.
Probability & Statistics
Our group conducts internationally recognised research in methodological and substantive applications, the most of which are concerned with the effects of climate change and/or natural hazards. The group’s goal is to use stochastic and statistical modelling tools to analyse and solve practical multidisciplinary problems, and to apply the ideas and results from the theoretical investigation to problems in epidemiology, phage dynamics, queuing networks, criminology, extreme events, syndromic surveillance, and biological dosimetry. Important challenges in these applied fields provide a rich stream of research subjects for the group, leading to publications in high impact journals like the Journal of the American Statistical Association, Statistics in Medicine, Radiation Research, etc. As a recent example of our work, we used our models to calculate the probability of a Carrington-like geomagnetic storm occurring. We also used a new model to analyse and predict the underreported covid cases during the previous pandemic. Several PhD students contribute significantly to some of our research projects. Our group is highly involved in the training of young researchers, with two postdoctoral researchers who have been awarded public competitive funds.
members
Alvaro Corral
CRM
Website
Tim Myers
CRM
Website
Pere Puig
UAB – CRM
Website
postdoctoral researchers
Lucy Auton
Postdoctoral Fellow - CRM
IP: Tim Myers
Marc Calvo Schwarzwälder
Postdoctoral Fellow - CRM
IP: Tim Myers
Álvaro González
Postdoctoral Fellow - CRM
IP: Álvaro Corral
PUBLICATIONS
Álvaro Corral
I coordinate the CRM Complex Systems Group, whose research is addressed to understand complex systems. Our approach has been diverse: theoretical, computational, experimental, and analysis of observational data. Main systems of interest are natural hazards (earthquakes, hurricanes, rain…) and communication systems (human language, music…), paying special attention to the necessary statistical tools. We have found statistical physical-like laws in several of these systems. Our results have been communicated to society through newspapers, radio, and TV.
I am very interested in the training of researchers, at the undergraduate, master, and doctoral level, having organized several summer schools in recent years.
Interested in joining the CRM Complex Systems Group? Contact me at alvaro dot corral at uab dot es
I (try to) lead the network complexitat.cat.
Recent talks and courses
Fitting of power-law distributions
Temporal scale invariance and extreme events
Language and music: power laws, Zipf’s law, scaling laws, Heaps’ law, and even complex networks
Four laws of statistical seismology in fracture experiments
Branching processes, self-organization, and the statistics of natural hazards
Short course on power laws, branching processes and self-organization
In the media
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2012/07/26/is-pop-music-evolving-or-is-it-just-getting-louder/
http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2012/07/science-music
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2179432/All-songs-DO-sound-Modern-pop-louder-uses-chords-classic-albums-Fifties-Sixties.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/26/us-science-music-idUSBRE86P0R820120726
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57480692-71/the-songs-remain-the-same-but-louder-say-scientists/
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/science/article3488229.ece
Tim Myers
I am currently a Senior Researcher and head of the Industrial Maths Research Group (IMRG) at the Centre de Recerca Matematica (CRM) and also hold adjunct positions at:
- U. Limerick, Adjunct Professor of Industrial Mathematics
- U. Politecnica de Catalunya, Adjunct Professor.
I have over 30 years of research experience and, since 2011, have the highest research rating with the Catalan Accreditation Agency, AQU, L’Acreditació de la Recerca Avançada. (This qualification is required for the position of Full Research Professor). Between 2010-2014 I was a Marie Curie Research Fellow (International Re-Integration grant). I have been sole supervisor of 12 completed PhDs and 12 Post-docs.
In recent years I have held senior positions on 2 European councils:
- European Consortium for Maths in Industry (council member)
- Maths for Industry Network – MI-Net (core committee and Short Term Scientific Mission Manager).
Currently I am a member of the ECMI Research & Innovation committee. Since 2016 I have been the co-ordinator of all European
Study Groups with Industry (ESGI).
My wide training, both geographically and academically has provided me with many tools which may be used to bridge the gap between academia and industry. I have published in maths, physics, computing, engineering and nanotechnology journals. Consequently, I think of my research as being truly multi-disciplinary and with a practical focus not usually found in the
mathematical world.
I play an active role in promoting industrial and applicable mathematics throughout the world, having helped organise meetings in the UK, Spain, South Africa, Canada.
My work on phase change from a supercooled liquid is used in a commercial aircraft code. I have made advances in understanding melting at the nanoscale and explained the experimentally observed fast flow rates in carbon nanotubes; this led to the first physical explanation for the Navier slip boundary condition between a liquid and solid. Recently I proved that nanofluids do not dramatically increase heat transfer, contradicting thousands
of math papers but agreeing with experimental evidence.
I have worked on a multitude of industrial problems: to legalise rhino horn trade; carbon capture; bottle labelling; spontaneous combustion. In 2014 my work on football motion was awarded the Premi Albert Dou.
In the following link you will find a short interview I made, aimed at local students,
Football, ice and flies video
I have given keynote speeches in 5 continents and am/have been on the editorial boards for Appl. Math. Modelling, Math in Industry Case Studies and the RSME-Springer book series and am now involved in setting up the Mathematics in Industry Repository for Cambridge University Press.
Pere Puig
Professor Puig is senior full professor at the Department of Mathematics of the UAB. He leads the Advanced Statistical Modelling research group and has wide ranging experience in development of mathematical and statistical methods working together with multidisciplinary groups. Prof. Puig has published extensively his research results in Mathematical Statistics in prestigious international journals like the Journal of the American Statistical Association, Technometrics or the Scandinavian Journal of Statistics. For over twenty years has been a co-researcher with biologists, agriculturists, veterinarians, economists and health scientists, publishing their results in prestigious journals like Animal Science, Radiation Research, PlosOne or the Proceedings of the Royal Society A. Nowadays, P. Puig is the Editor in Chief of the journal “Statistical and Operation Research Transactions (SORT)” (http://www.idescat.cat/sort/). Since 2011 he is a regular collaborator with the Public Health England (PHE) Cytogenetics and Biomarkers Group, having several joint publications. He also has participated in the PhD project “Advanced Statistical Methods for Cytogenetic Radiation Biodosimetry”, under a special agreement between the PHE and the UAB.