[1] Dr. Baltazar D. Aguda, DOST Balik Scientist, Professor at the Mathematical Biosciences Institute, Ohio State University, Ph.D. in Chemistry (Chemical Physics Program), University of Alberta, Canada, 1986.

Invited by the Operations Research Cluster, Dr. Aguda will deliver lectures/seminars on Friday, January 8, 2010 at the Mathematics Building Lecture Hall. The first talk "Mathematical Challenges in Biology" will be at 10:00 - 11:30 am while the second talk "Mathematical Modeling of Biological Networks" will be at 4:00-5:30 pm. Dr. Aguda will also discuss a collaboration with IMSP through the establishment of a research group in bio-mathematics and the proposal for the creation of a Master of Science program in Mathematical Biology.

[2] Dr. Patrizia Donato, University of Rouen, France.

Invited by the Analysis Cluster, Dr. Donato will deliver the lecture "Homogenization of Partial Differential Equations", which has applications in materials science and engineering. This will be on Tuesday, January 12, 2010, 11:00 am at the PSLH-B. Dr. Donato will also discuss her proposed UP-University of Rouen collaborative program for research and faculty development.

Her talk will provide a general introduction to some very basic ideas of homogenization of partial differential equations (PDE's) which play an important role in describing macroscopic properties of heterogeneous materials such as composites. From a mathematical point of view, homogenization deals with the asymptotic analysis of PDE's with rapidly oscillating coefficients that depends on a small parameter. It is the purpose of homogenization to describe the limit process when this parameter tends to zero. The lecture will show some model cases by looking at a composite material and a perforated one, where the heterogeneities are periodically distributed. The PDE's modelling macroscopically these materials will also be described.