Search Research Symposium Abstracts

Monte Carlo simulations of 2D flat-sheet membrane filters for water purification

Municipal facilities performing potable water purification in the United States utilize micro- or ultra-filtration. In these systems, wastewater is pushed through membranes with micro or nanometer-scale pores to filter it; foulants and pollutants are captured by the membrane, allowing clean water to exit. Periodically, filters are cleaned to maintain [Read More...]

Presenter: Francesca Bernardi, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Authors: Francesca Bernardi, Nicholas G. Cogan, Shankar Chellam
Symposium Year: 2023
Session: Application of Monte Carlo Methods to Real-World Problems [Organized by Francesca Bernardi and Andrea Arnold]
Presentation Time: October 1, 2023; 9:45 am

Encoding of noisy sensory information in biological neural networks

Mammalian cortical networks are known to process sensory information utilizing feedforward and feedback connections along the cortical hierarchy as well as intra-areal connections between different cortical layers. While feedback and feedforward signals have distinct layer-specific connectivity motifs preserved across species, the computational relevance of [Read More...]

Presenter: Hannah Choi, Georgia Institute of Technology
Symposium Year: 2023
Session: Application of Monte Carlo Methods to Real-World Problems [Organized by Francesca Bernardi and Andrea Arnold]
Presentation Time: October 1, 2023; 10:10 am

A Network of Transition Pathways in a Soft-Sphere Model

Many intriguing dynamical properties of complex systems, such as metastability or resistance to applied forces, emerge from the underlying energy landscape. We probe the energy landscape of a granular material by modeling a jammed 2D packing of bidisperse disks as a collection of overlapping circles, defining an energy penalty based on the amount of [Read More...]

Presenter: Katie Newhall, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Authors: Chris Moakler, Karen Daniels, Katie Newhall
Symposium Year: 2023
Session: Application of Monte Carlo Methods to Real-World Problems [Organized by Francesca Bernardi and Andrea Arnold]
Presentation Time: October 1, 2023; 10:35 am

Kinetic simulations for multi-perspective investigation of CFTR function and pathology

CFTR, an anion channel responsible for maintaining the balance of salts and fluids across membranes, is affected by mutations that cause cystic fibrosis (CF), an inherited disorder characterized by the production of thick and sticky mucus. This condition leads to airway blockage, lung damage, and digestive complications. The impact of these mutations on CFTR [Read More...]

Presenter: Zeliha Kilic, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Authors: Jesper Levring, Daniel S. Terry, Zeliha Kilic, Gabriel Fitzgerald, Scott C. Blanchard & Jue Chen
Symposium Year: 2023
Session: Application of Monte Carlo Methods to Real-World Problems [Organized by Francesca Bernardi and Andrea Arnold]
Presentation Time: October 1, 2023; 11:00 am

Tracking Changes in Tissue Physical Properties During Thermal Laser-Tissue Interactions via Nonlinear Filtering

Successful use of lasers in medical procedures relies on the ability to understand and control the interactions that occur between laser light and the tissue being treated. In this talk, we present a computational framework using nonlinear filtering and thermal sensor technology to estimate the physical properties governing the thermal response of [Read More...]

Presenter: Andrea Arnold, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Symposium Year: 2023
Session: Application of Monte Carlo Methods to Real-World Problems [Organized by Francesca Bernardi and Andrea Arnold]
Presentation Time: October 2, 2023; 8:30 am

Goal-oriented Uncertainty Quantification for Inverse Problems via Variational Encoder-Decoder Networks

In this work, we describe a new approach that uses variational encoder-decoder (VED) networks for efficient goal-oriented uncertainty quantification for inverse problems. Contrary to standard inverse problems, these approaches are goal-oriented in that the goal is to estimate some quantities of interest (QoI) that are functions of the solution of an [Read More...]

Presenter: Julianne Chung, Emory University
Authors: Babak Maboudi Afkham, Julianne Chung, and Matthias Chung
Symposium Year: 2023
Session: Application of Monte Carlo Methods to Real-World Problems [Organized by Francesca Bernardi and Andrea Arnold]
Presentation Time: October 2, 2023; 8:55 am

MCMC methods for analyzing muscle recruitment in biomechanics

Skeletal muscles of the human and animal bodies form a highly redundant system, allowing a continuum of different activation configurations to execute given tasks. The redundancy is important for allowing alternative solutions to the muscle load-sharing problem, ensuring stable motion under different conditions. The central nervous system is believed to [Read More...]

Presenter: Daniela Calvetti, Case Western Reserve University
Authors: Mercy Amankwah, Daniela Calvetti, Erkki Somersalo
Symposium Year: 2023
Session: Application of Monte Carlo Methods to Real-World Problems [Organized by Francesca Bernardi and Andrea Arnold]
Presentation Time: October 2, 2023; 9:20 am