Dynamic Systems Commons^™

Phenological Overlap In Obligate Plant-Pollinator Mutualism, Austin J. Carlson

2026 Spring Honors Capstones Projects

Plant-pollinator mutualisms require temporal overlap between flowering and pollinator activity, so climate-driven timing shifts can weaken the interaction and, in severe cases, destabilize the system. This work investigates how reduced overlap affects persistence in an obligate plant-pollinator pair using a coupled differential equation model in which a phenological overlap factor scales the saturating mutualistic benefit. Simplification with a constant overlap enables closed-form equilibrium and stability analysis, revealing that below a critical overlap threshold, coexistence is no longer maintained. Rescaling reduces the parameter space from ten quantities to seven dimensionless groups, and sensitivity analysis identifies the degree of species dependence and …

Stability Analysis Of Thermohaline Convection With A Time-Varying Shear Flow Using The Lyapunov Method, Kalin Kochnev

Honors Scholar Theses

This work applies the Lyapunov method to identify instabilities and compute the growth rate of a linear time-varying system. The linear system studied describes cold fresh water on top of hot salty water with a periodically time-varying background shear flow. A time-dependent weighting matrix is employed to construct a Lyapunov function candidate. The resulting linear matrix inequalities are discretized in time using the forward Euler method. As the number of temporal discretization points increases, the growth rate predicted by the Lyapunov method or Floquet theory, used for comparison, will converge to the same value obtained from numerical simulations. Furthermore, the …

Math Meets Climate: The Energy Balance Model, Maria I. Sanchez Muniz

Open Educational Resources

This assignment introduces students to the mathematics of Earth’s climate through the classical energy balance model. Students analyze how incoming solar radiation, outgoing thermal radiation, and temperature-dependent albedo interact to determine Earth’s equilibrium temperature. Using analytical calculations and computational tools, students identify equilibrium states, assess their stability, and interpret the results through the lens of dynamical systems and bifurcation theory. The activity builds conceptual understanding of climate feedbacks, greenhouse effects, and tipping behavior using a transparent, one-variable model. Designed for applied mathematics and interdisciplinary STEM courses, this assignment emphasizes computation, physical interpretation, and real-world relevance. It is released as a …

Understanding Enso Through Mathematical Models, Maria I. Sanchez Muniz

Open Educational Resources

This assignment introduces students to conceptual models of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and guides them through a structured investigation of their physical and mathematical foundations. Students analyze the recharge–oscillator and delayed–oscillator frameworks, explore how differential equations capture ocean–atmosphere interactions, and evaluate parameter-driven changes in oscillatory behavior. A key component of the work is the guided use of generative AI as a research tool: students employ AI models to locate peer-reviewed literature, interrogate model extensions, and refine their understanding of complex mechanisms, while synthesizing all final explanations in their own words. By blending classical climate modeling with modern AI-supported inquiry, …

Using Mathematical Modeling To Study The Dynamics Of Legionnaires’ Disease And Consider Management Options, Mark Z. Wang, Christina J. Edholm, Lihong Zhao

Faculty Articles

Legionnaires' disease (LD) is a largely understudied and underreported pneumonic environmentally transmitted disease caused by the bacteria \textit{Legionella}. It primarily occurs in places with poorly maintained artificial sources of water. There is currently a lack of mathematical models on the dynamics of LD. In this paper, we formulate a novel ordinary differential equation-based susceptible-exposed-infected-recovered (SEIR) model for LD. One issue with LD is the difficulty in its detection, as the majority of countries around the world lack the proper surveillance and diagnosis methods. Thus, there is not much publicly available data or literature on LD. We use parameter estimation for …

Finite Hybrid- And Semi-Markov Chains, Jose L. Menaldi, Maurice Robin

Mathematics Faculty Research Publications

The ergodic behaviour of finite Markov chains having also instantaneous transition are considered. Some estimates are obtained which complement our previous work [29]. Also, an optimal switching control model for semi-Markov chains is analysed, without any particular assumptions on the recurrent classes.

Duality Of Ensemble Systems Through Moment Representations, Vignesh Narayanan, Wei Zhang, Jr-Shin Li

Publications

Controlling large-scale dynamic population systems, known as ensemble control, is a pervasive and essential task in many emerging applications from diverse scientific domains. Previous focuses in the area of ensemble control have been placed on seeking open-loop control strategies due to unavailability of state feedback information for each individual system in the ensemble. In this paper, we develop a foundational framework for analysis and control of ensemble systems with closed feedback control loops. We introduce the notion of ensemble moments and construct moment systems associated with the ensemble systems. By extending the classical moment problem in mathematical analysis and statistics, …

Approximation Via Degree Reduction Of Nonlinearities With Applications To Turbulent Flows, Flame Fronts, And Magnetohydrodynamics, Matthew Enlow

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

We perform an analytical and computational investigation on the effectiveness of a locally bounded truncation function, which we call a calming function, when applied to the nonlinear terms of several dissipative partial differential equations. In particular, the 3D Navier-Stokes equations of incompressible fluid flow, the 2D Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equations of laminar flame fronts, and the 2D MHD-Boussinesq equations of magnetohydrodynamics. Each of these equations have open questions about the global existence and uniqueness of their solutions. These calming functions effectively reduce the algebraic degree of select nonlinear terms, thus one can verify global wellposedness for these "calmed systems." More specifically, in …

Convolutional Neural Network-Based Gene Prediction Using Buffalograss As A Model System, Michael Morikone

Complex Biosystems Program: Dissertations and Student Research

The task of gene prediction has been largely stagnant in algorithmic improvements compared to when algorithms were first developed for predicting genes thirty years ago. Rather than iteratively improving the underlying algorithms in gene prediction tools by utilizing better performing models, most current approaches update existing tools through incorporating increasing amounts of extrinsic data to improve gene prediction performance. The traditional method of predicting genes is done using Hidden Markov Models (HMMs). These HMMs are constrained by having strict assumptions made about the independence of genes that do not always hold true. To address this, a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) …

The Role Of Nanofluids In Renewable Energy Engineering, M. M. Bhatti, K. Vafai, Sara I. Abdelsalam

Basic Science Engineering

No abstract provided.

On Subset Labelings Of Trees, Gary Chartrand, Ebrahim Salehi, Ping Zhang

Mathematical Sciences Faculty Research

For a nontrivial graph G, a subset labeling of G is a labeling of the vertices of G with nonempty subsets of the set [r]={1, 2, ... , r} for a positive integer r such that two vertices of G have disjoint labels if and only if the vertices are adjacent. The subset index ρ(G) of G is the minimum positive integer r for which G has such a subset labeling from the set [r]. If T is a tree of diameter d, then ρ(Pd+1) ≤ ρ(T). It is shown that there are several classes of trees T of diameter …

Assorted Kerosene-Based Nanofluid Across A Dual-Zone Vertical Annulus With Electroosmosis, Sara I. Abdelsalam, A. M. Alsharif, Y. Abd Elmaboud, A. I. Abdellateef

Basic Science Engineering

The goal of this numerical simulation is to visualize the electroosmotic flow of immiscible fluids through a porous medium in vertical annular microtubes. The inner region (Region I) is filled with an electrically conducting hybrid nanofluid while an electrically conducting Jeffrey fluid is flowing in the second region (Region II). The chosen nanofluid is kerosene-based and the nanoparticles (Fe3O4-TiO2) are of a spherical shape. A strong zeta potential is taken into account and the electroosmotic velocity in the two layers is considered too. The annular microtubes are subjected to an external magnetic field and an electric field. The linked nonlinear …

Dynamic Function Learning Through Control Of Ensemble Systems, Wei Zhang, Vignesh Narayanan, Jr-Shin Li

Publications

Learning tasks involving function approximation are preva- lent in numerous domains of science and engineering. The underlying idea is to design a learning algorithm that gener- ates a sequence of functions converging to the desired target function with arbitrary accuracy by using the available data samples. In this paper, we present a novel interpretation of iterative function learning through the lens of ensemble dy- namical systems, with an emphasis on establishing the equiv- alence between convergence of function learning algorithms and asymptotic behavior of ensemble systems. In particular, given a set of observation data in a function learning task, we …

Moment-Based Reinforcement Learning For Ensemble Control, Yao-Chi Yu, Vignesh Narayanan, Jr-Shin Li

Publications

Problems involving controlling the collective behavior of a population of structurally similar dynamical systems, the so-called ensemble control, arise in diverse emerging applications and pose a grand challenge in systems science and control engineering. Owing to the severely under-actuated nature and the difficulty of placing large-scale sensor networks, ensemble systems are limited to being actuated and monitored at the population level. Moreover, mathematical models describing the dynamics of ensemble systems are often elusive. Therefore, it is essential to design broadcast controls that excite the entire population in such a way that the heterogeneity in system dynamics are robustly compensated. In …

Entropy Analysis Of Sutterby Nanofluid Flow Over A Riga Sheet With Gyrotactic Microorganisms And Cattaneo–Christov Double Diffusion, M. Faizan, F. Ali, K. Loganathan, A. Zaib, C. A. Reddy, Sara I. Abdelsalam

Basic Science Engineering

In this article, a Riga plate is exhibited with an electric magnetization actuator consisting of permanent magnets and electrodes assembled alternatively. This exhibition produces electromagnetic hydrodynamic phenomena over a fluid flow. A new study model is formed with the Sutterby nanofluid flow through the Riga plate, which is crucial to the structure of several industrial and entering advancements, including thermal nuclear reactors, flow metres and nuclear reactor design. This article addresses the entropy analysis of Sutterby nanofluid flow over the Riga plate. The Cattaneo–Christov heat and mass flux were used to examine the behaviour of heat and mass relaxation time. …

Electroencephalogram Classification Of Brain States Using Deep Learning Approach, Hrishitva Patel

Computer Science Faculty Scholarship

The oldest diagnostic method in the field of neurology is electroencephalography (EEG). To grasp the information contained in EEG signals, numerous deep machine learning architectures have been developed recently. In brain computer interface (BCI) systems, classification is crucial. Many recent studies have effectively employed deep learning algorithms to learn features and classify various sorts of data. A systematic review of EEG classification using deep learning was conducted in this research, resulting in 90 studies being discovered from the Web of Science and PubMed databases. Researchers looked at a variety of factors in these studies, including the task type, EEG pre-processing …

Computational Framework Of Magnetized Mgo–Ni/Water-Based Stagnation Nanoflflow Past An Elastic Stretching Surface: Application In Solar Energy Coatings, M. M. Bhatti, O. A. Bég, Sara I. Abdelsalam

Basic Science Engineering

In this article, motivated by novel nanofluid solar energy coating systems, a mathematical model of hybrid magnesium oxide (MgO) and nickel (Ni) nanofluid magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stagnation point flow impinging on a porous elastic stretching surface in a porous medium is developed. The hybrid nanofluid is electrically conducted, and a magnetic Reynolds number is sufficiently large enough to invoke an induced magnetic field. A Darcy model is adopted for the isotropic, homogenous porous medium. The boundary conditions account for the impacts of the velocity slip and thermal slip. Heat generation (source)/absorption (sink) and also viscous dissipation effects are included. The mathematical …

Nidus Idearum. Scilogs, Ix: Neutrosophia Perennis, Florentin Smarandache

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

In this ninth book of scilogs collected from my nest of ideas, one may find new and old questions and solutions, – in email messages to research colleagues, or replies, and personal notes, some handwritten on the planes to, and from international conferences, about topics on Neutrosophy and its applications, such as: Neutrosophic Bipolar Set, Linguistic Neutrosophic Set, Neutrosophic Resonance Frequency, n-ary HyperAlgebra, n-ary NeutroHyperAlgebra, n-ary AntiHyperAlgebra, Plithogenic Crisp Graph, Plithogenic Fuzzy Graph, Plithogenic Intuitionistic Fuzzy Graph, Plithogenic Neutrosophic Graph, Plithogenic Real Number Graph, Plithogenic Complex Number Graph, Plithogenic Neutrosophic Number Graph, and many more.

Exchanging ideas with: Tareq Al-Shami, …

Scientific Breakdown Of A Ferromagnetic Nanofluid In Hemodynamics: Enhanced Therapeutic Approach, M. M. Bhatti, Sara Abdelsalam

Basic Science Engineering

In this article, we examine the mechanism of cobalt and tantalum nanoparticles through a hybrid fluid model. The nanofluid is propagating through an anisotropically tapered artery with three different configurations; converging, diverging and non-tapered. To examine the rheology of the blood we have incorporated a Williamson fluid model which reveals both Newtonian and non-Newtonian effects. Mathematical and physical formulations are derived using the Lubrication approach for continuity, momentum and energy equations. The impact of magnetic field, porosity and viscous dissipation are also taken into the proposed formulation. A perturbation approach is used to determine the solutions of the formulated nonlinear …

On Behavioral Response Of Ciliated Cervical Canal On The Development Of Electroosmotic Forces In Spermatic Fluid, Sara I. Abdelsalam, A. Z. Zaher

Basic Science Engineering

The goal of this research is to conduct a theoretical investigation about the effect of the electroosmotic forces on the swimming of sperms throughout the cervical canal. To imitate male semen with self-propulsive spermatozoa, a hyperbolic tangent fluid is used as the base liquid. Swimming sperms move inside a ciliated cervical canal and peristalsis occurs due to the ciliated walls. The perturbation method is used to solve the controlling partial differential set of equations analytically. Due to selfpropulsion of swimmers and long wavelength assumption, a creeping flow protocol is used throughout the stream. The stream pattern, velocity distribution, and pressure …

Contributions To The Teaching And Learning Of Fluid Mechanics, Ashwin Vaidya

Department of Mathematics Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This issue showcases a compilation of papers on fluid mechanics (FM) education, covering different sub topics of the subject. The success of the first volume [1] prompted us to consider another follow-up special issue on the topic, which has also been very successful in garnering an impressive variety of submissions.

As a classical branch of science, the beauty and complexity of fluid dynamics cannot be overemphasized. This is an extremely well-studied subject which has now become a significant component of several major scientific disciplines ranging from aerospace engineering, astrophysics, atmospheric science (including climate modeling), biological and biomedical science …

Lecture 07: Nonlinear Preconditioning Methods And Applications, Xiao-Chuan Cai

Mathematical Sciences Spring Lecture Series

We consider solving system of nonlinear algebraic equations arising from the discretization of partial differential equations. Inexact Newton is a popular technique for such problems. When the nonlinearities in the system are well-balanced, Newton's method works well, but when a small number of nonlinear functions in the system are much more nonlinear than the others, Newton may converge slowly or even stagnate. In such a situation, we introduce some nonlinear preconditioners to balance the nonlinearities in the system. The preconditioners are often constructed using a combination of some domain decomposition methods and nonlinear elimination methods. For the nonlinearly preconditioned problem, …

The Fundamental Limit Theorem Of Countable Markov Chains, Nathanael Gentry

Senior Honors Theses

In 1906, the Russian probabilist A.A. Markov proved that the independence of a sequence of random variables is not a necessary condition for a law of large numbers to exist on that sequence. Markov's sequences -- today known as Markov chains -- touch several deep results in dynamical systems theory and have found wide application in bibliometrics, linguistics, artificial intelligence, and statistical mechanics. After developing the appropriate background, we prove a modern formulation of the law of large numbers (fundamental theorem) for simple countable Markov chains and develop an elementary notion of ergodicity. Then, we apply these chain convergence results …

Leveraging Elasticity To Uncover The Role Of Rabinowitsch Suspension Through A Wavelike Conduit: Consolidated Blood Suspension Application, Sara I. Abdelsalam, A. Z. Zaher

Basic Science Engineering

The present work presents a mathematical investigation of a Rabinowitsch suspension fluid through elastic walls with heat transfer under the effect of electroosmotic forces (EOFs). The governing equations contain empirical stress-strain equations of the Rabinowitsch fluid model and equations of fluid motion along with heat transfer. It is of interest in this work to study the effects of EOFs, which are rigid spherical particles that are suspended in the Rabinowitsch fluid, the Grashof parameter, heat source, and elasticity on the shear stress of the Rabinowitsch fluid model and flow quantities. The solutions are achieved by taking long wavelength approximation with …

Thermodynamic Entropy Of A Magnetized Ree-Eyring Particle-Fluid Motion With Irreversibility Process: A Mathematical Paradigm, M. M. Bhatti, Sara I. Abdelsalam

Basic Science Engineering

This article deals with the entropy generation and irreversibility process under the effects of partial slip on magnetic dusty liquid induced by peristaltic wave through a porous channel. The Ree-Eyring fluid model has been used for a governing flow. Mathematical modelling is based on Ohm's law, continuity equation, Darcy law and momentum equation. Analytical solutions are presented for fluid and particle phase. The effects of different pertinent parameters are considered for Newtonian and non-Newtonian cases. Numerical integration has been carried out using a computational software to analyse the pumping characteristics. The behaviour of velocity profile, trapping mechanism, entropy generation, Bejan …

Numerical Computations Of Vortex Formation Length In Flow Past An Elliptical Cylinder, Matthew Karlson, Bogdan Nita, Ashwin Vaidya

Department of Mathematics Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

We examine two dimensional properties of vortex shedding past elliptical cylinders through numerical simulations. Specifically, we investigate the vortex formation length in the Reynolds number regime 10 to 100 for elliptical bodies of aspect ratio in the range 0.4 to 1.4. Our computations reveal that in the steady flow regime, the change in the vortex length follows a linear profile with respect to the Reynolds number, while in the unsteady regime, the time averaged vortex length decreases in an exponential manner with increasing Reynolds number. The transition in profile is used to identify the critical Reynolds number which marks the …

Teaching And Learning Of Fluid Mechanics, Ashwin Vaidya

Department of Mathematics Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Fluid mechanics occupies a privileged position in the sciences; it is taught in various science departments including physics, mathematics, environmental sciences and mechanical, chemical and civil engineering, with each highlighting a different aspect or interpretation of the foundation and applications of fluids. Doll’s fluid analogy [5] for this idea is especially relevant to this issue: “Emergence of creativity from complex flow of knowledge—example of Benard convection pattern as an analogy—dissipation or dispersal of knowledge (complex knowledge) results in emergent structures, i.e., creativity which in the context of education should be thought of as a unique way to arrange information so …

Mitigating Safety Concerns And Profit/Production Losses For Chemical Process Control Systems Under Cyberattacks Via Design/Control Methods, Helen Durand, Matthew Wegener

Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Faculty Research Publications

One of the challenges for chemical processes today, from a safety and profit standpoint, is the potential that cyberattacks could be performed on components of process control systems. Safety issues could be catastrophic; however, because the nonlinear systems definition of a cyberattack has similarities to a nonlinear systems definition of faults, many processes have already been instrumented to handle various problematic input conditions. Also challenging is the question of how to design a system that is resilient to attacks attempting to impact the production volumes or profits of a company. In this work, we explore a process/equipment design framework for …

Modeling Predator–Prey Interaction In A Two Patch System, Marc Wade

UCARE: Research Products

In this study we examine predator-prey relationships in the context of a two patch system. What is meant by a two patch system is that prey live in a habitat that consists of type 1 patches with an abundance of food and type 2 patches with no food. In our study, we will be assuming that predators cannot enter the first type of patch. We combine three well-established ecological theories: migration theory, optimal foraging theory, and the standard predator-prey model in order to answer the motivating question: "Under what environmental conditions is a predator population stable when predation can only …

Responsive Economic Model Predictive Control For Next-Generation Manufacturing, Helen Durand

Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Faculty Research Publications

There is an increasing push to make automated systems capable of carrying out tasks which humans perform, such as driving, speech recognition, and anomaly detection. Automated systems, therefore, are increasingly required to respond to unexpected conditions. Two types of unexpected conditions of relevance in the chemical process industries are anomalous conditions and the responses of operators and engineers to controller behavior. Enhancing responsiveness of an advanced control design known as economic model predictive control (EMPC) (which uses predictions of future process behavior to determine an economically optimal manner in which to operate a process) to unexpected conditions of these types …