A scientific conference, Progress and Problems in Dynamics, will be held from Monday, May 14 until Wednesday May 16, 2012 at the Medical Center Hilton, Houston. The website for the conference is www.math.uh.edu/dynamics2012/ . The aim of the workshop is to bring together experts in the areas of probabilistic dynamics, network dynamics and hybrid dynamical systems so as to allow an exchange of techniques and insights as well as to foster collaboration on tackling some of the most significant and topical problems in these active research areas. So as to stimulate interaction, there will be broad expository talks in the morning and more focused seminars in the afternoon, with ample time set aside for detailed discussions and the initiation of research collaboration. Participants include researchers in the modern statistical theory of dynamical systems complemented by researchers in specific areas of dynamics and applications, in particular: heteroclinic phenomena; adaptive networks; spatially extended systems; mixed discrete and continuous dynamical systems.
The results of research in dynamical systems have many applications of important economic and strategic significance ranging from biological networks and neuroscience to control theory and engineering. A priority of the workshop is to support and introduce postdoctoral fellows, early career researchers and graduate students to this very active and important area of contemporary mathematical research. Attracting young talent into this field will promote successful research careers as well as contribute to the solution of the problems posed in the workshop.
" was held in Houston from May 14 until May 16, 2012. The focus of the conference was recent progress in dynamical systems, the mathematical study of systems which evolve over time. For example the longterm behavior of the solar system and fluctuations in animal populations are examples of questions which have been investigated using ideas from dynamical systems theory. In particular, the conference addressed three related areas: the use of ideas from probablity in dynamics, systems which consist of many interacting components (network theory) and hybrid dynamical systems (systems whose evolution combines continuous effects with jumps, for example the integrate-and-fire neuronal model). The goal was to explore the use of recent theoretical results in applications and to highlight important new areas of application which would benefit from dynamical systems ideas. The intellectual merit consisted in showcasing research that seeks to explain and predict a variety of physical systems using ideas from dynamics. The conference talks included both expository lectures and research presentations. The expository lectures described many of the recent results and developments in these three areas. In addition, the meeting provided an ideal environment for stimulating an exchange of ideas, problems and techniques so as to advance all three areas. In particular, the workshop introduced recent developments in probabilistic dynamics to mathematical researchers in networks and hybrid dynamics, generating new interdisciplinary collaborations. Some of the highlights included talks which presented rigorous derivations of Ohm's law in electricity and stochastic differential equations from simple averaging ideas. The conference brought together experts from areas that impact current research in physics, biology, chemistry and engineering. Among the 59 participants there were 17 graduate students and post-doctoral researchers, who benefitted from both the expository talks and talks suggesting research topics.
