Archive for January, 2010

3rd February 2010, 1400 MC206

Professor Yihong Du

from

UNE

will speak on

Spreading Speed Revisited: A Free Boundary Model

In this talk, I will report recent joint work with my visitors on the spreading of new or invasive species. Traditionally the mathematical investigation of this problem is based on the “travelling wave solution” approach, built on the pioneering works of Fisher and Kolmogorov et al in the 1930s. Our research introduces a new approach, where we use the dynamics of a free boundary to describe the evolution of the spreading front of a new or invasive species.

The talk will start by recalling the background and empirical evidence, with a brief review of the advantages and short-comings of the traditional approach. Then the new approach will be presented with minimal mathematical technicalities. The talk will end with some comparisons of the new and traditional approaches and a brief discussion of possible new directions of research.