Nonlinear Analysis / Partial differential equations / Free boundary problems / Free discontinuity problems

Research Grants (PI)

2017-2018: National Science Foundation of China - 400 000 RMB for the project “Free Discontinuity Problems and Applications in Fracture Mechanics”

2014-2015: XJTLU-Research Development Grant - 44 000 RMB for the project “Asymptotic behaviour of Mumford-Shah minimizers at the crack-tip”

PhD Students

Zhiwei Cheng (2022)

I joined UNNC in August 2015. Before that I worked for 3 years at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in Suzhou (PR China) and for 7 years at Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences in Leipzig (Germany). 

Expertise Summary

I am an applied mathematician working on non-linear partial differential equations. Of my particular interest are problems with geometric “side effects”, like free boundaries and free discontinuities.

Modelling with Differential Equations (MATH2035)

Complex Functions (MATH2036)

Awards

2020: Lord Dearing Teaching Award

Academic Events Organized

2018: International Conference “Free boundary / free discontinuity problems and applications” UNNC, Ningbo in June 24-26

2017: Research Summer School “Free Discontinuity Problems and Applications in Fracture Mechanics”, UNNC, Ningbo, August 14-18

2015: International workshop "Non-linear PDEs and Applications", Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, China, May 18-19

2008: UNESCO-CIMPA Summer-School “Nonlinear analysis and Geometric PDE”, Tsaghkadzor, Armenia, June 15-24

Academic Visits (one month or longer)

2014: Visiting Fellowship (Feb. 3 - Apr. 13) in the research program on “Free Boundary Problems and Related Topics”, held at the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Cambridge, UK

2011: Visiting Fellowship (Mar. 1 - Apr. 30) in the research program on “Free boundary problems and applications”, held at the MSRI, UC Berkeley, USA

Admin duties

2016 - present: Course Director of BSc program “Mathematics with Applied Mathematics”, UNNC

2018 - present: Deputy Head of the Research Group “Partial Differential Equations”, UNNC

2020 - present: Academic Representative of UNNC on the University of Nottingham Senate

2013 - 2015: Applied Mathematics Program Director, XJTLU

2009 - 2010: Member of the Committee for Defense and Security Research of the Scientific Council of the Max Planck Society, Munich, Germany