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
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
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
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; 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
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
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.
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.
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)
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)