About the event

Department of Mathematics & Statistics Ostrom Lecture

Dr. Lisa Fauci

Pendergraft Nola Lee Haynes Professor of Mathematics Department of Mathematics, Tulane University

Flexible Filaments: Just Go With The Flow.

Abstract: The motion of waving or rotating filaments in a fluid environment is a common element in many biological and engineered systems. Examples at the microscale include chains of diatoms moving in the ocean, bacterial flagella propelling a cell body, as well as engineered helical nanorobots designed to deliver drugs to tumors. Complex fluid environments, such as networks of polymers, can have dramatic effects upon the dynamics of microorganisms as they move through mucus or tissues.  In this talk we will present mathematical and computational modeling insights into these viscosity-dominated flows. We will investigate a few intriguing systems: actin-like fibers in straining flows that spontaneously buckle into helices, helical filaments that penetrate and break a polymeric network, and the journey of extremely long and flexible sperm flagella through narrow and tortuous female reproductive tracts. 

Speaker Bio: Dr. Fauci received her BS at Pace University, and later her MS and PhD at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University in 1986. She then joined the faculty of Tulane University in the same year. She has held visiting positions at both the University of Utah and New York University, and has lectured on biological fluid dynamics throughout the world.

The T.G. Ostrom Lecture

The annual T. G. Ostrom Lecture brings internationally renowned mathematics scholars to the WSU Pullman campus for a public lecture paired with a department colloquium with faculty and staff.

The lecture honors the late professor emeritus Theodore G. Ostrom who retired from WSU in 1981 after serving 21 years as a WSU Mathematics Department faculty member.