Particulates across Scales: Mathematical Modeling, Computation, and Applications (25w5387)

The Banff International Research Station will host the “Particulates across Scales: Mathematical Modeling, Computation, and Applications” workshop in Banff from July 6 - 11, 2025.

The ability to manipulate fine particles is paving the way for a new era of advances in technology, ranging in application from nanoparticle-based solar panels for energy harvesting and storage to inhalable gene therapy for disease prevention and treatment. Typically, technological development has proceeded by trial and error, as the current scientific knowledge is inadequate for understanding how the fine particles assemble into larger structures. These structures are unexpected from the individual particles alone and call for new mathematical and computational approaches. A grand challenge is to design the particles from the ground up to create systems with novel properties in emerging applications.

Our workshop aims to tackle the current lack of a systematic knowledge base on particulate behavior. Just as the potential fields of application range widely, from energy to the environment, from smart materials and nano-robots to health care, so the research and development have been approached from various angles, involving physicists, chemists, biologists, engineers, computer scientists and mathematicians. The multidisciplinary nature of such research makes it essential that scientists collaborate across traditional disciplinary boundaries. That is the objective of this workshop: we bring together leading researchers on particle dynamics from different scientific backgrounds for an intense one-week brainstorm to define the big questions in the field, forge new research directions and build up collaborative projects to be pursued in the years to come.

The Banff International Research Station for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery (BIRS) is a collaborative Canada-US-Mexico venture that provides an environment for creative interaction as well as the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and methods within the Mathematical Sciences, with related disciplines and with industry. The research station is located at The Banff Centre in Alberta and is supported by Canada’s Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), and Alberta’s Advanced Education and Technology.