Dean, Faculty of Mathematics and Science Professor of Physics Brock University PhD Mathematics, University of Bristol, UK Phys. Dipl., University of Muenster (WWU), Germany Research Areas: Computational Physics / Numerical Simulations, Electro-kinetic Flows, Energy Science Curriculum Vitae

Main Research Interests:

• Computational Physics
  
• Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Simulations
  
• Computational Fluid Dynamics
  
• Nanofluidics; Electrokinetic Flows
  
• Theory of Electrolytes and Electrode-Electrolyte Interfaces
  
• Electro-chemical Energy Devices
  

• Electro-kinetic Flow in Viscoelastic, Charged Nanochannels
  
• Fuel Cells:
  Proton exchange membranes (PEM):
  nano-scale water and charge transport, water uptake, pore network models, scaling laws
  PEMFC catalyst layers:
  mesoscopic pore level, two-phase flow, upscaling
• Nanobubbles in Water Electrolysis:
  formation, stability, evolution, coupling to reaction kinetics
• Nanofluidic Diodes, Electro-actuators:
  rigid and visco-elastic pores, finite-size effects

• Traffic Flow Theory:
  micro-macro link, spatio-temporal patterns near ramps and bottlenecks, delay, many-neighbour coupling
  
• Energy-economic Models:
  economic models subject to resource constraints, origins of the Industrial Revolution

Research Grants, Funding and Scholarships:

My work has been supported by the following sources of funding:

• NSERC
• Ontario Research Fund
• CFI
• Government of Canada (SIF)
• MITACS
• Research Council of Norway
• SIU
• Ballard
• Toyota Motor Corporation
• Enbridge Inc.
• Beakerhead
• Academics Without Borders
• University of Alberta
• NTNU
• UOIT
• Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation
• EPSRC
• WE-Heraeus Foundation
• ERASMUS Program

Journal Reviewer:

• Applied Physics Letters
  
• Electrocatalysis
  
• Electrochemical Solid State Letters
  
• Europhysics Letters
  
• Fuel Cells
  
• International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
  
• Journal of Chemical Physics
  
• Journal of the Electrochemical Society
  
• Journal of Power Sources
  
• Journal of Fuel Cell Science and Technology
  
• Physica A
  
• Physica D
  
• Physical Review E

Memberships:

• American Physical Society (life-time member, 2010-)
  
• Canadian Applied and Industrial Mathematics Society (2005-2011, 2016-2018)
  
• Canadian Association of Physicists (2005-2012, 2016-2019)
  
• The Electrochemical Society (2008-2018)
  
• German Physical Society (DPG, 1998-)
  
• Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (2019-)

Publications:

ELECTROCHEMISTRY RESEARCH

• P. Berg and K. Promislow, Modeling water uptake of proton exchange membranes, Technical Proceedings of the 2003 Nanotechnology Conference; Computational Publications, NY, pp. 493-496 (2003)
• P. Berg, K. Promislow, J. Stockie and B. Wetton, Mathematical modeling of water management in PEM fuel cells, Technical Proceedings of the 2003 Nanotechnology Conference; Computational Publications, NY, pp. 459-462 (2003)
• P. Berg, K. Promislow, J. St-Pierre, J. Stumper and B. Wetton, Water management in PEM fuel cells, J. Electrochem. Soc., 151, No.3, pp. A341-353 (2004)
• P. Berg, K. Promislow, J. Stumper and B. Wetton, Discharge of a segmented PEM fuel cell, Journal of Fuel Cell Science and Technology, 2, No.2, pp. 111-120 (2005)
• P. Berg, A. Caglar, K. Promislow, J. St-Pierre and B. Wetton, Electrical coupling in proton exchange membrane fuel cell stacks: mathematical and computational modelling, IMA Journal of Applied Mathematics, 71, pp. 241-261 (2006)
• P. Berg, A. Novruzi and K. Promislow, Analysis of a cathode catalyst layer model for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, Chemical Engineering Science, 61, pp. 4316-4331 (2006)
• H. Wu, X. Li and P. Berg, Transient analysis of fully humidified PEM fuel cells, Proceedings of the 2nd International Energy Conference; Dincer and Li, ISBN: 0-9781236-0-3 (2006)
• H. Wu, X. Li and P. Berg, Numerical analysis of dynamic processes in fully humidified PEM fuel cells, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 32, pp. 2022-2031 (2007)
• H. Wu, P. Berg and X. Li, Non-iosthermal transient modeling of water transport in PEM fuel cells, Journal of Power Sources, 165, pp. 232-243 (2007)
• P. Berg, A. Novruzi and O. Volkov, Reaction kinetics at the triple-point boundary in PEM fuel cells, Journal of Fuel Cell Science and Technology, 5, No. 2, 021007 (2008)
• R. Rashidi, I. Dincer and P. Berg, Energy and exergy analyses of a MCFC hybrid system, J. Power Sources, 185, pp. 1107-1114 (2008)
• H. Wu, P. Berg and X. Li, Steady and unsteady 3D two-phase non-isothermal modeling of PEM fuel cells with the effect of produced water phases, Proceedings of IGEC-IV; Li, Wang, Hao and Zhu, DVD (2008)
• R. Rashidi, I. Dincer, G. Naterer and P. Berg, Performance evaluation of direct methanol fuel cells for portable applications, J. Power Sources, 187, pp. 509-516 (2009)
• R. Rashidi, P. Berg and I. Dincer, Performance investigation of a combined MCFC system, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 34, pp. 4395-4405 (2009)
• P. Berg and K. Ladipo, Exact solution of an electro-osmotic flow problem in a cylindrical channel, Proc. Roy. Soc. A, 465, pp. 2663-2679 (2009)
• H. Wu, X. Li and P. Berg, On the modelling of water transport in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells, Electrochimica Acta, 54, pp. 6913-6927 (2009)
• P. Berg and J. Findlay, Mass transport phenomena in a MCFC cathode, Research Report (2009) (click here), arXiv:0909.0725v1 [cond-mat.mtrl-sci] 03 Sep 2009
• H. Wu, P. Berg and X. Li, Steady and unsteady 3-D non-isothermal modeling of PEM fuel, cells with the effect of non-equilibrium phase transfer, Applied Energy, 87, pp. 2778-2784 (2010)
• H. Wu, P. Berg and X. Li, Modeling of PEM fuel cell transients with finite-rate phase transfer processes, J. Electrochem. Soc., 157, No.1, B1-B12 (2010)
• P. Berg, Mathematical modelling of fuel cells, in: Progress in Industrial Mathematics at ECMI 2008; Fitt, Norbury, Ockendon, Wilson; Springer, pp. 715-720 (2010)
• P. Berg and J. Findlay, Comment on: Analysis of molten carbonate fuel cell performance using a three-phase homogeneous model, J. Electrochem. Soc., 157, No.8, S13 (2010)
• K. Ladipo, P. Berg, S.-J. Kimmerle and A. Novruzi, Effects of radially-dependent parameters on proton transport in PEM nanopores, J. Phys. Chem., 134, 074103, pp. 1-12 (2011)
• M. Eikerling and P. Berg, Poroelectroelastic theory of water sorption and swelling in polymer electrolyte membranes, Soft Matter, 7, pp. 5976-5990 (2011)
• P. Berg and J. Findlay, Analytical solution of PNP-Stokes equations in a cylindrical channel, Proc. Roy. Soc. A, 467, pp. 3157-3169 (2011)
• M. Ramandi, P. Berg and I. Dincer, Three dimensional modeling of polarization characteristics in MCFCs using peroxide and superoxide mechanisms, J. Power Sources, 218, pp. 192-203 (2012)
• M. Schmuck and P. Berg, Homogenization of a basic catalyst layer model for general pore geometries in fuel cells, Appl. Math. Res. Express, Vol. 2013, No.1, pp. 57-78 (2013)
• S.-J. Kimmerle, P. Berg and A. Novruzi, An electrohydrodynamic equilibrium shape problem for polymer electrolyte membranes in fuel cells, in System Modeling and Optimization: 25th IFIP TC 7 Conference, CSMO 2011, Revised Selected Papers IFIP AICT 391, Eds.: D. Hoemberg and F. Troeltzsch, Springer, Heidelberg, pp. 387-396 (2013)
• M. Ramandi, P. Berg and I. Dincer, Numerical analysis of transient processes in molten carbonate fuel cells via impedance perturbations, J. Power Sources, 231, pp. 134-145 (2013)
• A.A. Kulikovsky and P. Berg, Analytical description of a dead spot in a PEM fuel cell anode, ECS Electrochem. Lett., 2 , pp. F64-F67 (2013)
• P. Berg and B.E. Benjaminsen, Mean-field models in PEM nanopores, Proceedings of 4th European PEFC & H2 Forum 2013, Eds.: D. Jones et al. (2013)
• P. Berg, S.-J. Kimmerle and A. Novruzi, Modeling, shape analysis and computation of the equilibrium pore shape near a PEM-PEM intersection, J. Math. Analysis and Applications, 410, pp. 241-256 (2014)
• P. Berg and B.E. Benjaminsen, Effects of finite-size ions and relative permittivity in a PEM nanopore model, Electrochim. Acta, 120, pp. 429-438 (2014)
• M. Ramandi, D. Dincer and P. Berg, Transient modeling of three-dimensional heat and mass transfer in a molten carbonate fuel cell at start-up, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 39, pp. 8034-8047 (2014)
• M. Schmuck and P. Berg, Effective macroscopic equations for species transport and reactions in porous catalyst layers, J. Electrochem. Soc., 161, pp. E3323-E3327 (2014)
• S.J. Kimmerle, K. Ladipo, A. Novruzi and P. Berg, Contact resistance at PEM-PEM interfaces: charged-fluid flow between nanochannels, ECS Transactions, 59, pp. 145-159 (2014)
• A.A. Kulikovsky and P. Berg, Positioning of a reference electrode in a PEM fuel cell, J. Electrochem. Soc., 8, F843-F848 (2015)
• M. Safiollah, A. Melchy, P. Berg and M. Eikerling, Model of water sorption and swelling in polymer electrolyte membranes: Diagnostic applications, J. Phys. Chem. B, 119, pp. 8165-8175 (2015)
• P. Berg and A.A. Kulikovsky, A model for a crack or a delaminated region in a PEM fuel cell anode: analytical solutions, Electrochim. Acta, 174, pp. 424-429 (2015)
• P. Berg and M. Stornes, Towards a consistent interpretation of electro-osmotic drag in polymer electrolyte membranes, Fuel Cells, 16, pp. 715-724 (2016)
• K. Sverdrup, S.J. Kimmerle and P. Berg, Computational investigation of the stability and dissolution of nanobubbles, Appl. Math. Mod., 49, pp. 199-219 (2017)
• S.J. Kimmerle, K. Sverdrup and P. Berg, Dynamic equilibrium of a coupled ODE-PDE problem for surface nanobubbles, Proc. Appl. Math. Mech., 17, pp. 843-844 (2017)
• M. Mpumelelo, P. Berg and M. Eikerling, Counter-ion flow through a deformable and charged nanochannel, Phys. Rev. E, 98, 053101(2018)
• M. Mpumelelo, M. Eikerling and P. Berg, Electrokinetic Onsager coefficients and energy conversion in deformable nanofluidic channels, Special Issue "Dynamical aspects using mean field methods for electrolytes and applications", Eur. Phys. J., 227, pp. 2559-2573 (2019)
• M. Mpumelelo, P. Berg and M. Eikerling, Asymmetric double-layer charging in a cylindrical nanopore under closed confinement, J. Chem. Phys., 152, 084103 (2020)
• P. Berg and P. Nadon, Random pore-network model for polymer electrolyte membranes, Soft Matter, 17, pp. 5907-5920 (2021)
• M. Mpumelelo and P. Berg, The nanofluidic transistor: Differential capacitance in the absence of reservoirs, J. Chem. Phys., 158, 164702 (2023)
• P. Shaw, E. Wood, T. Tiang and P. Berg, Comment on “Breakdown of electroneutrality in nanopores”, J. Colloid Interface Sci. (2023), accepted.

Industrial Research Reports:

(for industrial partners)

• P. Berg, K. Promislow and B. Wetton,
  Ballard-MMSC Project 1; Reports #1, #2, #3 and #4 (2002-2003)
• P. Chang, P. Berg and B. Wetton,
  Ballard-MMSC Project 2; Reports #1, #2 and #3 (2002)
• P. Berg, A. Caglar, K. Promislow, J. Stockie and B. Wetton,
  Ballard-MMSC Project 3; Reports #1, #2, #3 and #4 (2003-2004)
• P. Berg, K. Ladipo, A. Novruzi and S.J. Kimmerle,
  Toyota Project: Final Report (2011)

TRAFFIC RESEARCH

• P. Berg, A.D. Mason and A.W. Woods, Continuum approach to car-following models, Phys. Rev. E, 61, pp.1056-1066 (2000)
• P. Berg and A.W. Woods, Relating car-following and continuum models of road traffic, in: Traffic and Granular Flow '99: Social, Traffic and Granular Dynamics; Helbing, Schreckenberg, Wolf; Springer, pp. 389-394 (2000)
• P. Berg and A.W. Woods, Travelling waves in a linearly stable, optimal velocity model of road traffic, in: Progress in Industrial Mathematics at ECMI 2000; Anile, Capasso, Greco; Springer, pp. 281-284 (2001)
• P. Berg and A.W. Woods, Travelling waves in an optimal velocity model of traffic flow, Phys. Rev. E, 63, 036107 (2001)
• P. Berg and A.W. Woods, On-ramp simulations and solitary waves in a car-following model, Phys. Rev. E, 64, 035602 (2001)
• R.E. Wilson and P. Berg, Existence and classification of travelling wave solutions to second order highway traffic models, in: Traffic and Granular Flow '01; Fukui, Sugiyama, Schreckenberg, Wolf; Springer, pp. 85-90 (2003)
• P. Berg and R.E. Wilson, Microscopic parameters and macroscopic features of traffic flow, in: Interface and Transport Dynamics: Computational Modelling; Emmerich, Nestler, Schreckenberg; Springer, pp. 329-342 (2003)
• R.E. Wilson, P. Berg, S. Hooper and G. Lunt, Many-neighbour interaction and non-locality in traffic models, European Phys. J. B, 39, pp.397-408 (2004)
• P. Berg and R.E. Wilson, Bifurcation analysis of meta-stability and waves of the OV model, in: Traffic and Granular Flow '03; Hoogendoorn, Luding, Bovy, Schreckenberg, Wolf; Springer, pp. 247-252 (2005)
• P. Berg and J. Findlay, Linking cellular automata and optimal-velocity models through wave selections at bottlenecks, in: Traffic and Granular Flow '05; Schadschneider, Poeschel, Kuehne, Schreckenberg, Wolf; Springer, pp.515-520 (2007)
• J. Ward, R.E. Wilson and P. Berg, Wave selection problems in the presence of a bottleneck, in: Traffic and Granular Flow '05; Schadschneider, Poeschel, Kuehne, Schreckenberg, Wolf; Springer, pp.565-576 (2007)
• J. Ward, R.E. Wilson and P. Berg, Multiscale analysis of a spatially heterogeneous miscroscopic traffic model, Physica D, 236, pp.1-12 (2007)
• P. Berg and J. Findlay, Flow patterns of cellular automata and optimal-velocity traffic models at highway bottlenecks, Research Report (2007) (click here), arXiv:0901.1261v1 [nLin.CG] 9 Jan 2009

ENERGY, ECONOMY & ENVIRONMENT

• P. Berg, Low on energy:
  World oil shortage could trigger next major shift in global power, The CCPA Monitor, November 2005 Issue, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
• P. Berg Germany's energy efficiency: Root causes and framework, Discussion Paper Submitted to the Energy Subcommittee of the Economic Summit, Province of Ontario, March 2006
• P. Berg, A European lesson on oil and gas security, The CCPA Monitor, March 2007 Issue, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
• P. Berg and S. Korte, Higher-order Hubbert models for the world oil production, Petroleum Science and Technology, 26, pp.217-230 (2008)
• P. Berg, Debunking the green myth, The CCPA Monitor, November 2009 Issue, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
• P. Berg, Electric cars helpful, but not the sole advance in mobility, The CCPA Monitor, March 2010 Issue, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
• P. Berg, P. Hanz and I. Milton, An energy-economic oil production model, IMA J. Applied Mathematics, doi:10.1093/imamat/hxr049, pp. 1-26 (2011)
• P. Berg and A. Boland, Analysis of ultimate fossil fuel reserves and associated CO2 emissions in IPCC scenarios, Nat. Resources Res., 23, pp. 141-158 (2014)
• P. Berg and M. Staley, Capital substitution in an industrial revolution, Can. J. Econ., 48, pp. 1975-2004 (2015)

PHYSICS EDUCATION (COMPUTATIONAL PHYSICS)

• H. G. Hugdal and P. Berg, Numerical determination of the eigenenergies of the Schroedinger equation in one dimension, Eur. J. Phys., 36, 045013 (2015)
• P. Berg, The fundamental concepts of the gravity-assist manoeuvre, Eur. J. Phys., 44, 025002 (2023)

Book:

• Endliche Welt, unendliches Geld
  Das wahre Dilemma der Nachhaltigkeit
  oekom verlag, May 2016,
  see oekom verlag or amazon.de

Dissertations/Thesis:

• P. Berg, Optimal-velocity models of motorway traffic, PhD Thesis, University of Bristol, 2001
• P. Berg, Stationaere, periodische Oberflaechenwellen auf Wasser beliebiger Tiefe, Diploma Thesis, University of Muenster, 1998

Patents:

• Inventors: A. Kulikovsky and P. Berg,
  Verfahren zur Ermittlung von Ueberspannungen in Brennstoffzellen
  (Method for the determination of overpotentials in fuel cells),
  German Patent and Trade Mark Office (2016)
  European Patent Office (2016)

Conferences/Presentations:

ELECTROCHEMISTRY RESEARCH

• presentation:
  8th Int. Symp. on Polymer Electrolytes, May 2002, Santa Fe/Los Alamos, USA
• presentation:
  International Conference on Computational Nanotechnology, February 2003, San Francisco, USA
• invited speaker:
  "Fluid mechanics of PEM fuel cells", Seminar, BP Institute for Multi-phase Flow, June 2003, University of Cambridge, UK
• invited speaker:
  "Modelling, simulation and measurement of fuel cell transients: a diagnostic tool", Symposium on Advanced Energy Systems, CSME Forum 2004, June 2004, University of Western Ontario, Canada
• presentation:
  Computational Fuel Cell Dynamics III, March 2005, Banff International Research Station, Canada
• presentation:
  1st Int. Green Energy Conference, June 2005, University of Waterloo, Canada
• seminar talk:
  "Analysis of a cathode catalyst layer model for a PEM fuel cell", NRC Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation,
  November 2005, Vancouver, Canada
• invited lecture:
  "Triple-phase boundary in PEM fuel cell catalyst layers", Workshop on Modelling and Simulation of PEM Fuel Cells, September 2006, WIAS, Berlin, Germany
• seminar talk:
  SHARCNET Seminar Talk, June 2007, UOIT, Canada
• invited lecture:
  "Modelling micro-scale reaction kinetics in PEMFC catalyst layers", The 3rd FC-Cubic Workshop, March 2008, AIST Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Cutting-Edge Research Center, Tokyo, Japan
• minisymposium (organiser and chairman):
  "Mathematical modelling of fuel cells", ECMI 2008, July 2008, UCL, UK
• invited talk:
  "Triple-phase boundary in catalyst layers", Symposium on Theory and Modeling of Materials and Processes in Fuel Cells, ISTCP 6, July 2008, UBC, Canada
• invited talk:
  "Transport phenomena in the cathode of a molten carbonate fuel cell", ICH2P, May 2009, UOIT, Canada
• invited lecture:
  "Modelling of PEMFC catalyst layers: New approaches", FC-Cubic Mass Transfer Workshop,
  March 2009, AIST Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Cutting-Edge Research Center, Tokyo, Japan
• invited talk:
  "Exact solution of an electro-osmotic flow problem in a PEM nanopore", CAIMS 2009, June 2009, London, Canada
• seminar talk:
  "A simple model for electro-osmotic flow in a PEM nanopore", PDE/Analysis Seminar, September 2009, McMaster University, Canada
• invited talk:
  "Continuum models for nano-scale transport phenomena in polymer electrolyte membranes", Canada-US MEA Fuel Cell Modelling and Characterization Workshop, November 2009, Vancouver, Canada
• invited talk:
  "Continuum models for ionomer and water-filled pores in PEMFC catalyst layers", FCRC-NRC 4th Annual Colloquium on Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Technologies, December 2009, University of Waterloo, Canada
• conference talk:
  "Modelling water and proton transport in nano-pores of polymer electrolyte membranes", CAP 2010 Congress, June 2010, University of Toronto, Canada
• conference talk:
  "A continuum model for water and proton transport in polymer electrolyte membranes", ASME 2010 8th Int. Fuel Cell Science, Eng. & Techn. Conference, June 2010, Brooklyn, USA
• seminar talk:
  "Electrokinetic transport phenomena in polymer electrolyte membranes", Chemical Engineering Seminar, June 2010, MIT, USA
• conference talk:
  "Electro-hydrodynamics of nano-pores in polymer electrolyte membranes", CAIMS 2010, July 2010, St. John's, Canada
• conference talk:
  "Modelling nano-scale transport of water and protons in polymer electrolyte membranes", 2010 Canada-Taiwan Symposium on Renewable Energy Technology, October 2010, Ottawa, Canada
• invited talk:
  "A pore-level model for water sorption and swelling of PEM", Computational Electrochemistry Session, 219th ECS Meeting, May 2011, Montreal, Canada
• seminar talk:
  "A microscopic model for water uptake of PEM", Dept. of Mathematics, Michigan State University, October 2011, East Lansing, USA
• colloquium talk:
  "Nanoflows in polymer electrolyte membranes", Dept. of Physics, NTNU, September 2012, Norway
• seminar talk:
  "Dynamics and formation of nanopores in polymer electrolyte membranes", WIAS, November 2012, Berlin, Germany
• colloquium talk:
  "Modelling periodic catalyst layers in PEM fuel cells", Dept. of Chemistry, NTNU, January 2013, Norway
• conference talk:
  "Modified PNP-Stokes equations for electro-kinetic flow in PEM nanopores", ModVal 10, March 2013, Bad Boll, Germany
• seminar talk:
  "Morphology and functionality of polymer electrolyte membranes", Dept. of Physics, University of Duisburg-Essen, April 2013, Germany
• conference talk:
  "Mean-field models in PEM nanopores", European Fuel Cell Forum 2013, July 2013, Lucerne, Switzerland
• seminar talk:
  "Homogenization of periodic catalyst layers in PEM fuel cells", Dept. of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University, August 2013, Canada
• int. workshop (organiser and chairman):
  Water Phenomena in PEM, NTNU, October 2013, Norway
• conference talk:
  "Analytical model of a dead spot inside a PEM fuel cell anode", Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Nordic Countries 2013, November 2013, Oslo, Norway
• mini-lectures:
  "The Poisson-Nernst-Planck equation: theory, applications and shortcomings", Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University, May 2014, Canada
• invited talk:
  "Pore network approach to water and charge transport in polymer electrolyte membranes", Int. Symposium: Modeling and Diagnostics of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells, 97th Canad. Chem. Conf., June 2014, Vancouver, Canada
• seminar talk:
  "Thermodynamic equilibrium in PEM", Structure et Proprietes d'Architectures Moleculaires, CEA, July 2014, Grenoble, France
• conference talk:
  "Water and ions in PEM nanopores", ECI2014 - Electrochem. Interfaces: Recent Topics and Open Questions, WIAS, October 2014, Berlin, Germany
• invited talk:
  "Capabilities and limitations of PEM pore network models ", Advances in Polymers for Fuel Cells and Energy Devices, February 2015, Asilomar, USA
• conference talk:
  "Relating anode gaps to the positioning of the reference electrode in PEM fuel cells", ECS Conf. on Electrochem. Energy Conv. and Storage with SOFC-XIV, July 2015, Glasgow, Scotland
• invited talk:
  "Pore network models for polymer electrolyte membranes", Ion Transport: Electrodiffusion, Electrohydrodynamics and Homogenization, BIRS, June 2016, Banff, Canada
• conference presentation:
  "Pore network models and electro-osmotic drag in polymer electrolyte membranes", Fuel Cells Gordon Research Conference, Stone Hill College, August 2016, Easton, USA
• invited talk:
  "A reduced model for counter-ion flow through a visco-elastic, charged nanochannel", Enersense, NTNU, March 2018, Trondheim, Norway
• keynote speaker:
  "One-dimensional model for counter-ion flow through a visco-elastic, charged nanochannel", Int. Workshop: Complex Heterogeneous Systems, Heriot-Watt University, June 2018, Edinburgh, Scotland
• colloquium talk:
  "Electrokinetic transport in viscoelastic, charged nanochannels", Department of Physics, University of Alberta, November 2018, Edmonton, Canada
• conference presentation:
  "One-dimensional model for electro-kinetic transport in deformable nanochannels", Dead Sea Water Worksop 2019, February 2019, Ein Gedi, Israel
• seminar talk:
  "Energy conversion in charged, viscoelastic nanofluidic channels", TPI Seminar, University of Alberta, February 2019, Edmonton, Canada
• conference talk:
  "Energy conversion for electrokinetic fluid flow through soft, charged nanochannels", Alberta Math Dialogue, University of Alberta - Augustana Campus, May 2019, Camrose, Canada
• seminar talk:
  "Energy conversion in electrokinetic flow through charged and viscoelastic nanochannels", FZ Juelich, May 2019, Juelich, Germany
• seminar talk:
  "Energy conversion in electrokinetic flow through charged and viscoelastic nanochannels", WIAS, May 2019, Berlin, Germany
• conference talk (co-author; presented by PhD student, M. Mpumelelo):
  "Electrokinetic transport in porous media", CAP 2019, June 2019, Vancouver, Canada
• conference presentation (co-author; presented by PhD student, M. Mpumelelo):
  "Theory of electrokinetic transport in deformable nanochannels", E.L.K.I.N. 2019, MIT, June 2019, Boston, USA
• invited talk:
  "Energy conversion in electrokinetic flow through soft nanofluidic channels", Ion Transport and Nanofluidics: Modeling, Analysis and Numerics, Fields Institute, August 2019, Toronto, Canada
• seminar talk:
  "Electrokinetic flow phenomena of charged, viscoelastic nanopores", IEK-13: Modelling and Simulation of Materials in Energy Technology, FZ Juelich, February 2020, Germany
• seminar talk:
  "From microscale to macroscale properties of polymer electrolyte membranes(PEMs): a case for pore network models", Weierstrass Institute (WIAS), November 2020, Berlin, Germany
• conference talk:
  "Elastic, random pore network model for polymer electrolyte membranes", APS DFD 2020 (virtual event), November 2020, USA
• colloquium talk:
  "Nature-inspired fluidics: electro-kinetic flow through viscoelastic, charged nanochannels", Department of Physics, NTNU, December 2020, Trondheim, Norway
• session chair and speaker:
  "Computing transport properties of polymer electrolyte membranes with random pore-network models", SIAM Computational Science and Engineering 2021 (virtual event), March 2021, USA
• conference presentation:
  "Pore-network model for polymer electrolyte membranes", DPG Spring Meeting (virtual), March 2021, Germany
• main organizer:
  "Nanoscale physics of electrochemical and biological media", WE-Heraeus Seminar, May 2021, Physikzentrum Bad Honnef, Germany; co-organizers: Prof. Barbara Wagner, WIAS, Germany, and Prof. Michael Eikerling, FZ Juelich, Germany
• conference presentation:
  "Modelling transport phenomena in Nafion with a pore-network approach", ESEE 2021, June 2021, The Netherlands
• conference talk:
  "A pore-level model for ionic (electro)actuators", Nanofluidics 2022, May 2022, Lake Tahoe, USA
• conference talk:
  "Examination of electroneutrality in charged, nanofluidic channels", CSME 2022, June 2022, University of Alberta, Canada (presenter: Pragati Shaw, MSc student)
• conference talk:
  "Electroneutrality breakdown in charged, nanofluidic channels", APS DFD 2022, November 2022, Indianapolis, USA (presenter: Pragati Shaw)
• conference talk:
  "Examination of electroneutrality breakdown in a periodic array of nanochannels", ESEE 2023, June 2023, Toulouse, France (presenter: Pragati Shaw)

TRAFFIC RESEARCH

• presentation:
  Traffic and Granular Flow '99, September 1999, University of Stuttgart, Germany
• invited speaker:
  "Classification of travelling waves in a linearly stable, optimal-velocity model", ECMI 2000 (The European Consortium for Mathematics in Industry), September 2000, Palermo, Italy
• presentation:
  CFCD, June 2001, Simon Fraser University, Canada
• presentation (main author: R.E. Wilson):
  Traffic and Granular Flow '01, October 2001, University of Nagoya, Japan
• invited lecture:
  "Microscopic parameters and macroscopic features of traffic flow", Computational Physics of Transport and Interface Dynamics, February 2002, Max-Planck-Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany
• presentation:
  Traffic and Granular Flow '03, October 2003, TU Delft, Netherlands
• invited talk:
  "Standing-wave structures of a discrete traffic flow model on a loop", Southern Ontario Dynamics Days, April 2005, UOIT, Canada
• presentation:
  Traffic and Granular Flow '05, October 2005, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany
• seminar talk:
  "Linking cellular automata and optimal-velocity traffic models through wave selections at bottlenecks", IAM Seminar Series, November 2005, UBC, Canada

OTHER

• presentation:
  "Stationaere, periodische Wasserwellen in zwei Dimensionen", DPG Fruehjahrstagung, March 1998, University of Regensburg, Germany
• leader/organizer:
  Project: "Pedestrian flow and cellular automata", IAM-CSC-PIMS Senior Undergraduate Math Modelling Workshop, February 2003, UBC and SFU, Canada
• presentation:
  "Faculty of Science, UOIT: Energy research and initiatives" & "Modelling the world oil production", Presented to Stephen Harper (MP) and Jim Flaherty (MPP), 25 August 2005, UOIT, Canada
• seminar talk:
  "Higher-order Hubbert models for the world oil production", Formal Seminar Series (Dept. of Engineering Mathematics), October 2005, University of Bristol, UK
• invited speaker:
  "World oil peak, fuel cells and the hydrogen economy", Energy and Environment Day, February 2006 and October 2006, UOIT, Canada
• co-organiser:
  3rd Environmental Awareness Day, March 2006, UOIT, Canada
• minisymposium (organiser, chairman and speaker):
  "World oil and gas peak: Canada's role", 2nd Int. Green Energy Conference, June 2006, UOIT, Canada
• panelist:
  "Hydrogen infrastructure: Production, distribution and usage in a hydrogen-fuelled world", Critical Energy Choices Conference 2007, September 2007, MaRS Centre, Toronto, Canada
• panelist:
  "The future of the car", Cleantech Breakfast Series, Ogilvy Renault, May 2009, MaRS Centre, Toronto, Canada
• presentation:
  "Energy-economic model for the world oil production", CAIMS 2009, June 2009, London, Canada
• panelist:
  "Transportation networks", 2nd Annual DSEA Conference, October 2009, Ajax, Canada
• presentation:
  "Transportation: Some basic facts", Oshawa Environmental Advisory Committee, November 2009, Oshawa, Canada
• presentation:
  "An energy-economic Hubbert model", Applied Mathematics Seminar, January 2010, University of Waterloo, Canada
• presentation:
  "Future transportation and its impact on urban design: From congestion to sustainable transportation", Lunch and Learn event, City of Oshawa, June 2010, Canada
• minisymposium (organiser, speaker and chairman):
  "Sustainable energy", Dynamics Days Europe, September 2010, University of Bristol, UK
• presentation:
  "Navigating through resource depletion towards sustainability", Climate Changes: Opportunities and Impact, November 2010, Oshawa, Canada
• TEDx talk:
  "Resource scarcity: Sustainability by default?", TEDxUOIT, January 2011, Oshawa, Canada
• presentation:
  "Resilient infrastructure in times of growing resource scarcity", Ontario Public Service, Think Green Speaker Series, March 2011, Oshawa, Canada
• session co-organizer and speaker:
  "Challenges of the renewable energy transition", Energy Technologies Session, CAP 2011 Congress, June 2011, St. John's, Canada
• presentation:
  "Energy return on investment: A game changer", Doctoral Seminar on Energy, Resources and Climate Economics, July 2011, German Institute of Economic Research, Berlin, Germany
• presentation:
  "Scientific challenges of the renewable energy transition", Brown Bag Seminar, July 2011, German Institute of Economic Research, Berlin, Germany
• presentation:
  "Why Not Nuclear? And Why!", Canadian Nuclear Society, January 2012, UOIT, Canada
• presentation:
  "Resource Scarcity - or - Thou Will Have to Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself", UUCD - Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Durham, January 2012, Brooklin, Canada
• presentation:
  "Sustainability: All or nothing at all", OPS (Ontario Public Service) Workshop, March 2012, MaRS Center, Toronto, Canada
• presentation:
  "Sustainability: All or nothing at all", The Canadian Club, April 2012, Oshawa, Canada
• presentation:
  "Fiat currencies on a finite planet", VIPS Brown Bag Seminar, June 2012, Simon Fraser University, Canada
• presentation:
  "Capital substitution in an industrial revolution", Economics Seminar, March 2013, NTNU, Norway
• presentation:
  "IPython Notebook in physics education", IKTiSU Seminar, April 2014, NTNU, Norway
• presentation:
  "Inclusion and language issues: Is English a must for a global university?", NTNU Diversity Conference 2014, September 2014, Trondheim, Norway
• TEDx talk:
  "Probing the universe", The Unseen, 3rd Annnual TEDxTrondheim Conference, October 2014, Trondheim, Norway
• presentation:
  "Energy and sustainability: It's the entropy, stupid!", Nabla Society, November 2014, NTNU, Norway
• colloquium talk:
  "The Industrial Revolution: A phase transition?", January 2015, Department of Physics, NTNU, Norway
• presentation:
  "The Enigma story: From Turing & Bletchley Park to James Bond & Quantum Encryption"
  - February 2015, Dokkhuset, Trondheim, Norway
  - March 2015, Statoil R&D Centre - Rotvoll, Trondheim, Norway
  - March 2015, Delta Jubileum, NTNU, Norway
  - March 2015, Gloeshaugen Akademiske Klubb, NTNU, Norway
  - April 2015, Microsoft, Trondheim, Norway
  - May 2015, Deichmanske Bibliotek (public library - main branch), Oslo, Norway
  - March 2016, High-school Event, Lougheed Performing Arts Centre, Camrose, Canada
  - March 2016, Lougheed Performing Arts Centre, Camrose, Canada (poster)
  - March 2016, The Military Museums of Calgary, Canada (announcement)
  - August 2016, Telus World of Science - Edmonton, Canada
  - December 2016, For Our Soldiers, Military Comm. & Electronics Museum, Kingston, Canada
  - December 2016, Military Comm. & Electronics Museum, Kingston, Canada
  - September 2017, OWL, Germany
  - November 2017, The Military Museums of Calgary, Canada
  - Feb. 2018 (Enigma Centennial), Bridges Series, St. Jerome's University, Waterloo, Canada
  - March 2018, UOIT, Oshawa, Canada
  - March 2018, Regent Theater, Oshawa, Canada
  - May 2018, Calgary Knights of the Round Table, Calgary, Canada
  - June 2018, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
  - October 2018, The Military Museums of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
  - October 2018, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
  - April 2019, Red Deer College, Red Deer, Canada
  - May 2019, FH Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany
  - March 2020 (postponed due to COVID-19), Michael J Fox Theatre, Burnaby, Canada
  - March 2021, Rotary Club, Guetersloh, Germany
  - April 2021, BioMath Seminar, University of Alberta, Canada
  - December 2021, University for Development Studies (UDS), Ghana
  - March 2023, Guest lecture to undergraduate students, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Brock University, Canada
• Lunch & Learn series (organiser):
  "The 2015 Nobel Prizes - explained in 15 minute bites"
  - Physics and Chemistry, October 2015
  - Peace and Physiology/Medicine, November 2015
  - Economic Sciences (Riksbank Prize) and Literature, December 2015
  University of Alberta, Camrose, Canada
• presentation:
  "Finite planet, infinite money - Sustainability's true dilemma", Ideas Talk, January 2016, University of Alberta, Camrose, Canada
• invited participant:
  "Beakerhead SciComm" Workshop, Banff Science Communications Program, June 2017, Banff Centre, Canada
• Beakerhead 2017
  - "Up Against All Odds" (Gambler's Ruin Problem):
  interactive, outdoor arts & science installation
  - "7 Wonderers" at the National Music Centre - Studio Bell:
  7 scientists, 7 minutes each, plus a song
  September 2017, Calgary, Canada
• presentation:
  "Car-sharing at Augustana: Why and how?", Rural Transportation Information Day II (host and co-organizer), September 2017, University of Alberta, Camrose, Canada
• Lunch & Learn presentation:
  "The 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics: The LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves", December 2017, University of Alberta, Camrose, Canada
• Lunch & Learn presentation; host and organizer:
  "Pipelines and protests in the USA", public talk by Dr. Jessica Shoemaker (University of Nebraska, USA), 2018-19 Fulbright Fellow at the University of Alberta, April 2019, University of Alberta, Camrose, Canada
• presentation:
  "Transitioning to online delivery at the University of Alberta: Main challenges and opportunities", Int. Online Discussion: New Opportunities in Digital Teaching, RWTH Aachen, Attendees from RWTH Aachen, University of Alberta, Tsinghua University, IIT Madras, July 2020 (virtual)
• Host, co-organizer and interviewer:
  "Susan Rogers at the UofA", Dr. Rogers is Professor of Music at Berklee College of Music, Boston, USA, and was the (music) engineer for Prince from 1983-1987; one-hour research talk "Music Psychology for Record Makers" and two-hour, virtual interview under the theme "Prince: The Man Behind the Women", with me as interviewer, October 2020, University of Alberta, Canada
• panelist:
  "Research, challenges, opportunities and future directions in hydrogen energy and fuel cells", Canada-Turkey Hydrogen Technologies Workshop, October 2021 (virtual)
• presentation:
  "Creating a computational-science platform at the University of Eswatini", Open Education Symposium, March 2022, University of Alberta, Canada (virtual)
• presentation:
  "Use of web-based applications for university teaching: Lessons learned from numfys.net development", Int. Educational Workshop, May 2023, University of Eswatini, Eswatini (virtual)

Media:

• Oshawa This Week (newspaper):
  "Environmental Awareness Day opens eyes", April 8th, 2005
• KX96 (radio):
  "The Ontario Fuel Cell Research Network", News, August 17th, 2005
• Rogers TV:
  "High gas prices: Can fuel cells make a difference", First Local (news), August 17th, 2005
• AM 980 (radio):
  "Fuel cells: Recent developments and challenges", Focus 980 with John Wilson, August 18th, 2005
• NextWave - Science Magazine:
  "Modeling a Career: Industrial Internships for Mathematicians", September 22nd, 2005
• CHEX TV - Channel 12:
  "Fuel cells and alternative energy technologies in Ontario", First Take with Dan Carter, October 31st, 2005
• Toronto Star (newspaper):
  "Higher energy costs now, will likely pay off later", Letter to the editor, January 31st, 2006
• I-Channel (TV):
  "Youth Science Foundation Canada: Earth & Environmental Sciences", @Issue, March 20th, 2006
• Council of Ontario Universities:
  "A sampling of 2005-2006 success stories of federal and provincial investment in university research", p.112, 02 May 2006
• Politically Speaking (TV):
  "What can we do about high gas prices?", May 18th, 2006
• Rogers TV:
  "Energy Conference at UOIT: Why high gas prices?", First Local (news), 28 June 2006
• Reach for the Top (TV):
  Question for the candidates, October 8th, 2006
• Toronto Star:
  "Make geothermal systems [for new public buildings] mandatory", Letter to the editor, October 31st, 2006
• Oshawa This Week:
  "It's time to think big, Oshawa", Opinion piece, November 12th, 2006
  Note: "out-of-date" - no longer valid, current, or fashionable; outmoded" (Collins Dictionary, 1992)
  Also: "outmoded - no longer fashionable or widely accepted" (Collins Dictionary, 1992)
• The Toronto Star:
  "Plenty of oil but no gas", Opinion piece, March 1st, 2007
• Oshawa This Week:
  "We're to blame for oil and gas shortages", Opinion piece, March 4th, 2007
• Research at UOIT, 2007:
  "Fine-tuning a fuel for the future", UOIT Research Brochure (summer 2007)
• Rogers TV:
  "The Gas Shortage", Talk Local, March 7th, 2007
• Oshawa This Week:
  "The era of cheap oil is at an end", Opinion piece, June 10th, 2007
• Durham Trade and Commerce (magazine):
  "Driving the dreams", Summer 2007 Issue, pp.8-10, 2007
• Toronto Star:
  "Location proves prescient", Letter to the editor, September 24th, 2007
• Oshawa This Week:
  "Going with the flow", Research story, November 9th, 2007
• Toronto Star:
  "Action must be taken now to deal with peak of [conventional] oil", Letter to the editor, January 5th, 2008
• Oshawa This Week:
  "We need new solutions to old problems", Opinion piece, April 27th, 2008
• Rogers TV:
  "Are you changing your driving routine as a result of higher gas prices?", Goldhawk Live, May 6th, 2008
• Oshawa This Week:
  "Professor calls biofuels solution poor energy return on investment", Letter to the Editor, July 24th, 2008
• Oshawa This Week:
  "First global crisis of century harrowing", Opinion piece, October 16th, 2008
• Oshawa This Week:
  "Toyota helps university's research efforts", March 18th, 2009
• Oshawa This Week:
  "We are slaves to the amount of energy we use", Opinion Piece, August 26th, 2009
• Dynamical Systems Magazine: (http://www.dynamicalsystems.org/ma/)
  "UOIT - the early days", Research Groups Around the World, July 2010
• Artsforum:
  "We all live in one big Disney World", Ideas - The Wide World, November 2010
• Oshawa This Week:
  "Personal freedom versus citizen safety", Letter to the editor, June 6th, 2011
• Adressavisen:
  "Kapploepet om Enigma-koden", March 30th, 2015
• VG TV:
  "Enigma maskinen", May 1st, 2015
• Dagligtale:
  "Enigma machine coming to Augustana", March 9th, 2016
• Global TV Edmonton - Morning Show:
  "The Enigma story", March 10th, 2016
• Camrose Booster:
  "Breaking the code of the Enigma, March 15th, 2016
• Camrose Booster:
  "Making waves - A hundred years later", March 15th, 2016
• Camrose Canadian:
  "Professor brings Enigma machine to campus", March 17th, 2016
• Metro News - Edmonton:
  "Edmonton start-up Pogo expands to Camrose, becomes Alberta's first small-town car share", October 5th, 2017
• Camrose Booster:
  "Pogo car share expands to Camrose", October 17th, 2017
• Camrose Booster:
  "Nobel prizes are a bridge between science and society" [The 2017 Nobel prizes in science] (with Sheryl Gares - main author), February 13th, 2018
• DurhamRegion.com:
  "From the Enigma machine to online passwords", March 12th, 2018
• Camrose Booster:
  "Stephen Hawking: 1942-2018", April 10th, 2018 (link to article on UofA web site)
• CBC Radio Active (radio):
  "Beyond the Imitation Game", October 22nd, 2018
• CBC News, Edmonton (web story):
  " 'This really turned the tide': The Enigma machine and World War II in spotlight at U of A", October 22nd, 2018
• CHED (radio):
  "Beyond the Imitation Game", October 26th, 2018
• Camrose Booster:
  "Augustana Research Station reaches for the stars" (story on new observatory), September 10th, 2019
• Folio:
  "New U of A observatory gives a clear window into the wonders of the night sky", January 6th, 2021
• Academica: Top Ten in Higher Education:
  "UAlberta to open Hesje observatory", January 8th, 2021
• CTV, Edmonton (news):
  "The Hesje observatory", January 11th, 2021
• CBC, le télé journal:
  "Les étoiles à une heure d'Edmonton", January 15th, 2021
• Global TV, Edmonton (morning show):
  "The Hesje observatory", January 16th, 2021

Summer Research Students:

• Justin Findlay (2005)
  Science Undergraduate Summer Research Assistant (SUSRA)
  "Bottleneck Simulation with a CA Traffic Model"
• Stephen Korte (2005, 2006)
  i) NSERC USRA Summer Research Student (2005)
  MATHEMATICAL MODELLING OF THE WORLD OIL PRODUCTION PEAK
  ii) SUSRA (2006) (co-supervision)
  "Celestial Mechanics"
  
• Paul Hanz (2007)
  SUSRA
  "Modelling the World Energy Production Peak"
• Philippe Nadon (2019)
  "Self-consistent PEM Pore Network Models in 2-D and 3-D"
• Ethan Wood (2022)
  "Examination of electroneutrality in charged nanochannels"
• Zachary Kelly (2022)
  Academics Without Borders project with the University of Eswatini

4th-year Thesis Students:

• Justin Findlay (2006-2007)
  FLOW PATTERNS IN CELLULAR AUTOMATA AND OPTIMAL-VELOCITY TRAFFIC MODELS AT HIGHWAY BOTTLENECKS
  
• Paul Hanz (2008-2009)
  ENERGY-ECONOMIC MODELS
  (in collaboration with TD Bank, Toronto, Canada)
  
• Anthony Boland (2011-2012)
  ANALYSIS OF FOSSIL FUEL ULTIMATES BASED ON IPCC DATA AND THEIR RELATION TO CO2 EMISSIONS
  
• Paul Prior (2011-2012)
  MODELING ENERGY PRODUCTION AND POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS OF A WORLD POWERED ONLY BY OIL

MSc Thesis Students:

• Ramin Rashidi (2007-2008)
  THERMODYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF HYBRID MCFC SYSTEMS
  (funded by ORF and Enbridge Inc., North York, Canada)
  
• Justin Findlay (2007-2009)
  MASS TRANSPORT IN THE CATHODE ELECTRODE OF A MOLTEN CARBONATE FUEL CELL
  (funded by ORF and Enbridge Inc., North York, Canada)
  
• Ian Milton (2007-2010; part-time)
  APPLICATIONS AND NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION OF DIFFERENTIAL-ALGEBRAIC EQUATIONS
  
• John Mizanski (2010-2013)
  ENERGY-ECONOMIC MODEL FOR TRANSITION TO RENEWABLES
• Bjoern-Eirik Benjaminsen (2012-2013)
  NANOFLOW OF PROTONS AND WATER IN POLYMER ELECTROLYTE MEMBRANES
  
• Magnus Dahle (MSc Report, 2014)
  A MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF ELECTRO-KINETIC FLOW IN A FLEXIBLE PEM NANOPORE
  
• Asbjoern Sperre (2014-2015)
  MODELLING SURFACE NANOBUBBLES IN WATER ELECTROLYSIS
  
• Endre Skeie (2014-2015)
  MONTE-CARLO SIMULATIONS OF A SIMPLE MODEL FOR CHARGE STORAGE IN A SINGLE-FILE NANOPORE
  
• Knut Sverdrup (2014-2015)
  NUMERICAL INVESTIGATIONS ON NANOBUBBLE STABILITY
  
• Kjersti Krakhella (2014-2015) (co-supervision)
  COATING FOR METAL BIPOLAR PLATES IN PEM WATER ELECTROLYSERS
  
• Jack Edwards (2019-2021) (main supervision)
  PORE-NETWORK MODELS AND EFFECTIVE MEDIUM THEORY: A CONVERGENCE ANALYSIS
  
• Pragati Shaw (2021-) (co-supervision and main sponsor)
  Violation of electro-neutrality in nanoscale electro-kinetics
  

PhD Students:

• Hao (Kevin) Wu (2005-2009)
  MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF TRANSIENT TRANSPORT PHENOMENA IN PEM FUEL CELLS
  
• Masoud Ramandi (2009-2012)
  MULTI-DIMENSIONAL MODELING OF TRANSIENT TRANSPORT PHENOMENA IN MOLTEN CARBONATE FUEL CELLS
• Morten Stornes (2013-2015)
  "Pore network models for polymer electrolyte membranes"
• Mpumelelo Matse (2016-2020)
  "ELECTRO-KINETIC FLOW THROUGH VISCO-ELASTIC, CHARGED PORES"
  

Research Assistants:

• Justin Findlay
  i) "MCFC modelling and simulation" (Summer 2007)
  (funded by ORF and Enbridge Inc., North York, Canada)
  ii) "Water and proton flow in PEM" (Summer 2010)
  (funded by Toyota Motor Corporation, Japan & USA)
  
• Ryan McVey (Summer 2009)
  "Proton exchange membranes, ion diffusion"
• Philippe Nadon (2020-2021)
  "Self-consistent PEM Pore Network Models in 2-D and 3-D"
• Joseph Menezes (2021-2022)
  Academics Without Borders project with the University of Eswatini
• Harshil Vyas (2021-2022)
  Academics Without Borders project with the University of Eswatini

Postdoctoral Fellows:

• Oleg Volkov (2005-2007)
  "PEM cathode catalyst layer: Reaction kinetics at the mesoscopic pore level"
  (funded by MITACS and Ballard, Vancouver, Canada)
  
• Kehinde Ladipo (2008-2010)
  "Ionomer-ionomer interface resistance"
  (funded by Toyota Motor Corporation, Japan & USA)
  
• Sven-Joachim Kimmerle (2010)
  "Ionomer-ionomer interface resistance"
  (funded by Toyota Motor Corporation, Japan & USA)
  

In Class:

• Use of tablet PC as teaching tool since 2004
  
• Undergraduate courses:
  Calculus II, Calculus III, Ordinary Differential Equations, Mathematical Ecology and Dynamical Systems, Numerical Methods, Physics I, Physics II, Mechanics I, Mechanics II, Celestial Mechanics, Fluid Mechanics, Quantum Mechanics I, Quantum Mechanics II, History of Mathematics and Physics, Introductory Energy Science, Introductory Environment Science, Emerging Energy Technologies, Physics and Geophysics, Science in Context;
  
• Graduate courses:
  Mathematical Modelling, Hydrogen-based Energy Systems and Fuel Cells

Outside Class - Software and Online:

• Principal investigator of the international education project Creating a computational-physics platform at the University of Eswatini (CP@UE); partnership with Department of Physics, University of Eswatini (former Swaziland); funded by Academics Without Borders (2021-2023)
  
• Co-creator of computational-physics web site numfys.net
  
• Principal investigator of the nationally-funded project Creating a computational-physics online platform with IPython Notebook (2015-2016)
  
• IT in Education (IKTiSU) projects at NTNU (2012, 2014), involving Matlab and IPython Notebook
• Joined UOIT in 2004, Canada’s first university with a full-fledged laptop program for both faculty and students

Development:

• Coursera certificate, Machine Learning, January 2021
  
• Department lead, Redesign of the science curriculum (revision of all majors, introduction of first-year Science Foundations), Department of Science, University of Alberta (2018-2021)
  
• Implementation of 3-11 Calendar ("Augustana Calendar"), Department of Science, University of Alberta (2016-2017)
  
• Pedagogical certificate PEDUP - Pedagogical development program, NTNU (2013-2014)
  
• Introduction of academic mentorship program for first-year BSc students in Physics at NTNU
  
• Program (co-)development at UOIT: BSc Medical Physics; MSc and PhD Modelling and Computational Science; MSc and PhD Materials Science

Check out the computational-physics resource NumFys:
numfys.net

Human Physics

By use of modern technology, we can simulate fundamental phenomena in physics. One major area of application of these simulation tools is statistical physics. Here, computers and programming languages provide the backbone for computations related to (seemingly) random or stochastic processes.
In our experiments below, instead of computers we employ humans who assume the role of particles that move or interact randomly. Rolling a die is one way to introduce an element of randomness. These human particle simulators constitute what we refer to as human physics.

Up Against All Odds

At the 2018 Beakerhead festival in Calgary, Alberta, we constructed an outdoor staircase with nine steps to simulate asymmetric (skewed) diffusion. It took the form of a game, called Up Against All Odds, where players were subject to the following rules and definitions:

• The bottom step is labelled '0' and the top step is labelled '9'.
• Choose a starting position: either step '3' or step '7'.
• Roll a die:
  If the starting position was '3', proceed one step up if the die shows '1', '2' or '3' (50% chance of stepping up). Proceed one step down if it shows '4', '5' or '6'.
  If the starting position was '7', proceed one step up if the die shows '1' or '2' (33% chance of stepping up). Proceed one step down if it shows '3', '4', '5' or '6'.
• Play the game until you either reach the bottom step '0' first or the top step '9' first.
• Winning means reaching the top step first and losing means reaching the bottom step first.

Players need to make a choice about their starting position and the corresponding probabilities of winning.
This game is a classic example of the gambler's ruin problem and, as it turns out, there are explicit formulas for the probabilites of either winning or losing and for the average time to completion of the game, given a certain starting position. In our case, the chance of winning, when starting on step '7' near the top, is 24.85% while, at 33.33% (1/3), it is actually higher when starting near the bottom. The game lasts an average 14 moves when starting at '7' versus an average 18 moves when starting at '3'.
Whether we consider this game a game of chance, as a casino would, or as asymmetric diffusion, as a physicist might, the mathematical treatment is identical and the resulting formulas are, too. However, it is easier to engage people when it comes across as a game of chance.
Interestingly enough, most players chose '3' as their starting position because they thought it was a trick question where to start. A wise choice!

Random Wanderers

Up Against All Odds was a game for one player at a time. Averages (e.g. percentage of winning, losing, time to completion) would emerge as many players would play in succession. How could one visualize diffusion as a multi-particle phenomena in one go?
Enter Random Wanderers! In a second experiment, we invited high-school students from Camrose, Alberta, during Augustana's 2018 Grade-8 Science Fair to participate in what is essentially the gambler's ruin problem on steroids, played simultaneously by two different groups with two different sets of rules in two separated halves of the volleyball field in the Augustana gym. (The Vikings logo represents our athletic teams at Augustana.)
Now there are lines numbered '0' (black bottom line equal to the outside line of the volleyball field) to '10' (top bottom line again equal to the outside line of the volleyball field), with yellow lines '1' to '9' in between. There are two different experiments.

Experiment 1:



Rules:

• One half of students (27 out of 54) lines up along line '3' in the left half of the volleyball field, the other half (again 27 students) lines up along line '8' in the right half.
• Upon command, each student rolls a die on the floor in front of them:
  In the left field (starting position '3'), students proceed one line up if the die shows '1', '2' or '3' (50% chance of stepping up). They proceed one line down if it shows '4', '5' or '6'.
  In the right field (starting position '8'), students proceed one line up if the die shows '1' or '2' (33% chance of stepping up). They proceed one line down if it shows '3', '4', '5' or '6'.
• Each student plays the game until they either reach the bottom line '0' first or the top line '10' first.
• Winning means reaching the top line first and losing means reaching the bottom line first. (Note that students were not informed about a winning or losing outcome.)

The chance of winning, when starting on line '8' on the right and near the top, is 24.93% while, at 30.00%, it is actually higher when starting on line '3' on the left and near the bottom. Again, it seems counter-intuitive but the outcome supports the predictions, as it can be seen in the blurred video above. More students on the left reach the top than on the right (12 versus 5). The formulas predict 8 versus 7 which would be the case for a very large number of participants - if everyone follows the rules!

Experiment 2:



Rules:

• Approximately one half of students (23 out of 55) lines up along line '2' in the left half of the volleyball field, the other half (22 out of 25 students actually finish) lines up along line '7' in the right half.
• Upon command, each student rolls a die on the floor in front of them:
  In the left field (starting position '2'), students proceed one line up if the die shows '1', '2' or '3' (50% chance of stepping up). They proceed one line down if it shows '4', '5' or '6'.
  In the right field (starting position '7'), students proceed one line up if the die shows '1' or '2' (33% chance of stepping up). They proceed one line down if it shows '3', '4', '5' or '6'.
• Each student plays the game until they either reach the bottom line '0' first or the top line '10' first.
• Winning means reaching the top line first and losing means reaching the bottom line first. (Again, students were not informed about a winning or losing outcome.)

The chance of winning, when starting on line '7' on the right and near the top, is 12.41% while, at 20.00%, it is again higher when starting on the left and near the bottom. Again, it seems counter-intuitive but the outcome also supports this prediction. More students on the left reach the top than on the right (12 versus 8). The formulas predict 5 versus 3 which would be the case for a very large number of participants.

As a final note, we leave it to the reader to figure out whether students followed the rules correctly. It should also be mentioned that some events are not visible in this footage and we used the raw footage to track every player correctly. The blurring was done so as to ensure anonymity.

Check out my wonderful thought experiment:
Falling Objects

Endliche Welt, Unendliches Geld

Das wahre Dilemma der Nachhaltigkeit

Die Welt befindet sich seit 2008 im Ausnahmezustand. Eine globale Finanzkrise geht mit wachsenden Schuldenbergen und Wohlstandskluften einher. Chinas Aufstieg zur Weltmacht diktiert maßgeblich den fluktuierenden Preis von Ressourcen. Andere Länder verlieren ihre Stabilität und sehen sich Bürgerkriegen und Massenmigration ausgesetzt. Gleichzeitig nimmt der Klimawandel an Fahrt auf und stellt unseren Technologiefetischismus auf die Probe.

Aus der Sicht eines Physikers liegt die gemeinsame Ursache dieser Trends im Widerspruch eines steten Wirtschaftswachstums auf einem endlichen Planeten, getrieben von einem Geldsystem ohne intrinsischen Wert. Mit dramatischen Konsequenzen verliert letzteres bei Nullwachstum - das wegen begrenzter Ressourcenschöpfung unweigerlich näherkommt - seine Funktionsfähigkeit. Nachhaltigkeit bedarf hingegen eines Geldsystems, das auf Dauer ein Mindestmaß an Infrastruktur, Bildung und Gesundheitsversorgung garantieren kann.

Link zum oekom verlag, Buch bei amazon

Beyond the Imitation Game From Alan Turing & Bletchley Park to James Bond & Quantum Encryption

Discover the remarkable story of the Enigma machine, a device used by the German military during WWII to encrypt their military communications. In my talk, you will learn about the machine's inner workings, the code-breaking efforts of Alan Turing and his team at Bletchley Park, the role that Canadians and Norwegians played, the ties to modern espionage and encryption technology, and what James Bond has to do with all of this. Plus, you will witness an on-stage demonstration of the Enigma.

Interested in finding out more? Then just email me to arrange a talk. As someone who has lived in all four countries involved in this story, I promise to provide you with a unique "Enigma perspective".

Interested in Canada's ties to Bletchley Park? Click here.


The story so far: (over 3,000 attendees and counting)

• February 2015, Dokkhuset, Trondheim, Norway
• March 2015, Statoil R&D Centre - Rotvoll, Trondheim, Norway
• March 2015, Delta Jubileum, NTNU, Norway
• March 2015, Gloeshaugen Akademiske Klubb, NTNU, Norway
• April 2015, Microsoft, Trondheim, Norway
• May 2015, Deichmanske Bibliotek (public library - main branch), Oslo, Norway
• March 2016, High-school Event, Lougheed Performing Arts Centre, Camrose, Canada
• March 2016, Lougheed Performing Arts Centre, Camrose, Canada (poster)
• March 2016, The Military Museums of Calgary, Canada (announcement)
• August 2016, Telus World of Science - Edmonton, Canada
• December 2016, For Our Soldiers, Military Comm. & Electronics Museum, Kingston, Canada
• December 2016, Military Comm. & Electronics Museum, Kingston, Canada
• September 2017, OWL, Germany
• November 2017, The Military Museums of Calgary, Canada
• February 2018 (Enigma Centennial), Bridges Series, St. Jerome's University, Waterloo, Canada;
  with David O'Keefe and Richard Brisson (watch the YouTube video)
• March 2018, UOIT, Oshawa, Canada
• March 2018, Regent Theater, Oshawa, Canada
• May 2018, Calgary Knights of the Round Table, Calgary, Canada
• June 2018, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
• October 2018, The Military Museums of Calgary, Calgary, Canada; with David O'Keefe
• October 2018, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada; with David O'Keefe
• April 2019, Red Deer College, Red Deer, Canada
• May 2019, FH Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany
• March 2020 (postponed due to COVID-19), Michael J Fox Theatre, Burnaby, BC, Canada; with David O'Keefe and Ted Barris; official sponsor: Canadian Military Exhibition
• March 2021, Rotary Club, Guetersloh, Germany
• April 2021, BioMath Seminar, University of Alberta, Canada
• December 2021, University for Development Studies (UDS), Ghana
• March 2023, Brock University, Canada

Me and my Maschine! (2015)
Priceless Calgary!
One of many silly German mistakes ("cillis").
Taxi confirmation for Statoil event. Das Boot is ready to go!

Media coverage:

• Adressavisen: "Kapploepet om Enigma-koden", March 30th, 2015
• VG TV: "Enigma maskinen", May 1st, 2015
• Dagligtale: "Enigma machine coming to Augustana", March 9th, 2016
• Global TV - Edmonton, Morning Show: "The Enigma Story", March 10th, 2016
• Camrose Booster: "Breaking the code of the Enigma, March 15th, 2016
• Camrose Canadian: "Professor brings Enigma machine to campus", March 17th, 2016
• CBC Radio Active: "Beyond the Imitation Game", October 22nd, 2018
• CBC News, Edmonton: " 'This really turned the tide': The Enigma machine and World War II in spotlight at U of A", October 22nd, 2018
• CHED: "Beyond the Imitation Game", October 26th, 2018

Qualifications:

• Certificate, Building Capacity for Reconciliation, University of Alberta (2018-2019)
  
• Gold College - University of Alberta Leadership Program (2015-2016)
  
• NTNU Leadership Program (2014-2015)

Roles:

• Dean, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, Brock University (2023-)
  
• Chair, Department of Science, Augustana Faculty, University of Alberta (2015-2022)
  
• Head of Program, BSc and MSc Physics, Department of Physics, NTNU (2013-2015)
  
• Program Director, BSc Physics, UOIT (2011-2012)
  
• Program Coordinator, Energy and the Environment Specialisation in Physics, UOIT (2009-2012)

Committees:

• Senior Academic Council, Senior Administrative Leadership Team, Council of Academic Deans, University Senate including the Planning, Priorities & Budget Advisory Committee; Brock University (2023-)
  
• Elected member (Chairs' representative), General Faculties Council - Academic Planning Committee; University of Alberta (2021-2022)
  
• PHRT Sub-Committee on Academic Issues, university-wide committee for the planning of online course delivery for the 2020-2021 academic year; University of Alberta (2020)
  
• Elected member, Chairs’ Council Executive; University of Alberta (2018-2020)
  
• Academic Council, Executive Council, Faculty Evaluation Committee, Chairs' Council; University of Alberta (2015-2022)
  
• Research Committee, Augustana Faculty, University of Alberta (2015-2016)
  
• Elected Member, Board, Department of Physics, NTNU (2014-2015)
  
• Member, Outreach Committee, Department of Physics, NTNU (2013-2015)
  
• Faculty Association Executive - Grievance Officer, UOIT (2011-2012)
  
• Elected Member, Board of Governors, UOIT (2006-2009)
  
• Elected Member, Finance and Audit Committee, UOIT (2006-2009)
  
• Member, Science Faculty Council, UOIT (2004-2012)
  
• Numerous Faculty Search Committees, UOIT and University of Alberta

Fun Stuff:

• Initiator, Pogo CarShare at Augustana, first rural car-sharing program in Alberta (2017-2018)
  
• Augustana liaison, Provincially-funded pilot bus project: Camrose/Augustana - Edmonton/UofA North Campus, September 2018 launch
• Board member, ALL (Association of life-wide living) of Alberta, Camrose community organization (2017-18)

Prof. Peter Berg
Faculty of Mathematics and Science
Brock University
1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way
St. Catharines, ON, L2S 3A1, Canada
Phone: +1.905.688.5550 x3421
Email: pberg@brocku.ca