Knoxville Trip

Last week I had a short trip to Knoxville, Tennessee to the University there. I was visiting Steven Wise in the Mathematics Department. We have been working in a larger group on a set of computational benchmark problems for the Cahn Hilliard and Allen Cahn equations (that describe the idealized evolution of phase separation in some kinds of materials). You can see the results of one of the simulations we are doing on my YouTube channel: here. I had talked with Steven on Skype calls with the group but had not met him in person. He had some good insights into what we were working on -- and I liked him. I hope I get a chance to visit with him again.

I gave two talks, one a research seminar and another a talk for undergraduates. If you are ever really keen to see my presentations you can find them at the bottom of the research tab of my work web page: here. I remove presentations folder than five years so depending on when you click that link you might see other talks.

The UT Knoxville campus is quite beautiful. It is laid out on a series of hills and the Math Department is in a great location at the top of the highest one.

        

We did talk actual technical details, but the discussion was mainly about the strategy of what we put in the series of papers our group has planned, which you can see on our blackboard scribblings below.

I was just there a couple of days but had a chance to have some Tennessee cuisine: BBQ and chicken fried steak. I didn't get to hear live country music, which was also on my list, so I will have to go back.

I often have trouble sleeping when I travel. After I rattled around trying to settle and gave up, I watched about half of the second season of the Chronicles of Shannara. This series is on US but not Canadian Netflix. I blogged about the first season somewhere. It stands up as worth watching just because it is not as terrible as you expect it to be. The elves still have American accents (that is just wrong - elves are English and dwarves are Scottish, everyone knows that). Characters still fail logic tests like "if you give me that skull I will spare your uncle but then kill everyone including your uncle". I will watch the second half when I return to the US on my trip to "exciting" East Lansing in April.