The ``2nd International Workshop on Nonlinear and Modern Mathematical Physics" will take place March 9-11, 2013, at the University of South Florida. The primary goals of this mathematics research conference are to survey recent advances on a wide range of topics of current interest in the field of nonlinear mathematical physics, to promote new collaborations in the research community, and to bring together mathematicians and physicists to understand nonlinear phenomena and solve nonlinear problems. The topics of the main lectures will reflect the major current developments in the areas of solvability and integrability of nonlinear problems in mathematical physics, which include, but are not limited to, integrable and near-integrable equations, physical and engineering applications such as nonlinear optics, Bose-Einstein condensates and fluid dynamics, numerical aspects of nonlinear phenomena, and related areas. This conference will bring a unique international forum to the South Florida region, and will be a catalyst for new, cross-disciplinary synergies in this flourishing research area.
Nonlinear phenomena occur everywhere in daily life, but the so-called nonlinear mathematical problems that model such phenomena are very difficult to solve either theoretically or numerically. Two important settings for nonlinear problems are global warming and communication systems. The ``2nd International Workshop on Nonlinear and Modern Mathematical Physics" aims to make progress in the understanding and solution of nonlinear problems by promoting new synergies among researchers in different fields. The workshop will feature multidisciplinary lectures on emerging topics and arising challenges of broad scope, from classical mathematical physics to contemporary mathematical physics. Emphasis will be placed in involving junior faculty and graduate students, including members of under-represented groups, women and minorities. The workshop will provide significant opportunities for education and public outreach to a broad audience from various branches of mathematics, physics and engineering sciences.
(NMMP) co-organized by University of South Florida (USF) and University of Central University (UCF) from 9-11 March, 2013 was tremendously successful. The local organizing committee, consisting of Dr. Wenxiu Ma (USF) as chairman, Dr. S. Roy Choudhury (UCF) as co-chairman, Dr. Constance Schober (UCF), Dr. David J. Kaup (UCF), Dr. Sherwin Kouchekian (USF) and Dr. Razvan Teodorescu (USF), worked with selection of conference topics, hotel accommodation and schedule of talks during the preparation phase, and the offices of college dean and math department provided staff support throughout the conference. The conference attracted 49 speakers and 72 participants from 13 countries of Europe, Asia, America and Africa. We had invited seven world-renowned mathematicians and physicists to give plenary speeches at this workshop. Their introductory reports provided general tutorials which would immediately help young participants including graduate students and new PhDs to explore this beautiful world of nonlinear mathematical physics. Those featured plenary speakers were Professor Francesco Calogero of University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’, Italy; Professor Robert Conte of LRC MESO, Centre de Mathématiques et de leurs Applications, France; Professor David J. Kaup of University of Central Florida, USA; Professor Dmitry Khavinson of University of South Florida, USA; Professor Igor Krichever of Columbia University, USA; Professor Keti Tenenblat of University of Brasilia, Brazil; and Professor Paul Wiegmann of University of Chicago, USA. This workshop was made possible by an award from the National Science Foundation and the generous support from the USF Office of Research and Innovation, and the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. NSF award allowed us to support 37 speakers for their partial participation expenses at an average rate of about $750. Those speakers are young graduate students and researchers, international speakers, and retired professors. We reimbursed all local and travel expenses for the five plenary speakers at a rate of about $1,300 each of two domestic speakers and about $18,000 each of three international speakers. Professor Marcus McWaters, Chair of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, presided the opening ceremony. USF Associate Vice President for Global Academic Programs Dr. Roger Brindley and Research Administrator of College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Ms. Sandy L. Justice presented their warm welcome speeches at the opening ceremony. There was also a beautiful reception and banquet dinner on the second day of the workshop. All participants enjoyed the reception and banquet dinner very much, and many of them expressed utmost appreciation for the outstanding job and important role that the local organizing committee played. As chairman of the international workshop, I tremendously benefited from communications and discussions with many prominent mathematicians in the field of nonlinear and modern mathematical physics. It also allowed me to both maintain and improve national and international contact with a group of researchers who work on similar topics, and to explore the possibility for future joint research projects. The success of the workshop brought another academic victory for our college and department at USF. My representation reported our recent research, particularly on symbolic and numerical computations on irreducible representations using computer algebra systems such as Maple and Mathematica, and so, provided insightful supplements to the existing interdisciplinary research programs on modern mathematical physics and applied mathematics and for young researchers, visiting scholars and graduate students majoring in both natural and physical sciences. Our presentations will be published by the American Institute of Physics with open access and distributed to major libraries around the world. More information about this workshop is available at www.math.usf.edu/2ndNMMP/. All this would help us achieve the educational goals of USF as a major urban research university. We are particularly grateful to our administrative specialist Ms. Beverly DeVine-Hoffmeyer, who assisted with all travel logistics and reimbursements through USF Travel Module, and to our receptionist Ms. Mary Ann Wengyn for coordinating with the area hotels and pulling together information on shuttles and local restaurants. We also thank our college research administrator Ms. Sandy Justice for her constructive advice and supervisory guidance to address every aspect of the workshop. Special thanks to CAS Webmaster Michael Abrahams for beautifully crafted web designs, CAS Marketing Director Michele Dye for marketing and communication support, and Staff Accountant Randall Barnett in CAS Dean's Office for administering online registration payment transactions. Our research visitors, Dr. Shaowei Liu, Ms. Qiulan Zhao, Dr. Rui Wang and Mr. Xinyue Li, and graduate students, Emmanuel Appiah, Xiang Gu, Morgan McAnally and Solomon Manukure, offered selfless and dedicated service to the workshop, to whom we are extremely grateful. Our thanks also go to all speakers and participants for their great interest and significant contributions to the workshop! It was the help and support that we received that made it possible to hold the 2nd NMMP workshop on the Tampa campus of University of South Florida.
