Research summary
Some problems in the natural sciences can’t be solved by using conventional mathematical and engineering tools. As Canada Research Chair in Applied Mathematics and Optimisation, Dr. Yana Nec is taking a multidisciplinary approach to tackling these types of problems.
She and her research team are focusing on two inter-disciplinary themes: they are addressing the modelling of particle motility in the immune system and also studying the fluid flow that underpins landfill gas collection and control. While these may seem unrelated at first, both systems’ physical principles defy standard assumptions-and until now, have escaped conceptually accurate modelling. For example, particles in the immune system traverse media that have an intricate structure that is difficult to capture mathematically, and landfill systems combine several flow regimes whose coupling creates non-trivial engineering complications. Ultimately, Nec and her team will develop new analysis tools that can handle the peculiarities of such systems.