Professor Faris will conduct research in the mathematics of wave propagation in random media. The spectral and scattering properties of the waves will be studied. Faris' major goal is to describe the role of scattering resonances in determining the scattering properties of a random obstacle. Another goal is to understand random wave diffusion. The study of random media is of great interest in modern physics and mathematics. The idea here is that in certain types of materials the atoms are not arranged in a regular manner. In fact the materials tend to look rather chaotic. The mathematical model then is probabilistic, and one tries to find statements which are true with probability one.
