26/02/2018

Marcelo Flamarion surfs the waves of Fluid Dynamics.

"Manezinho da ilha," since he was born in Florianópolis (SC) and raised on the sandy beaches of Rio de Janeiro, Marcelo Flamarion grew up in environments conducive to learning about currents and waves. Although he is not a surfer, the mathematician took advantage of his love for numbers to delve into an important topic: the waves generated along surfaces.

At first glance, this may seem to have no relation to mathematics, but it is part of an important area — Fluid Dynamics — widely used, for example, by oil companies.

After researching the subject for four years, Flamarion defends this Monday afternoon (26) the thesis "Models for waves generated due to the interaction of a current with topography", supervised by André Nachbin.

The son and nephew of engineers, Flamarion's interest in mathematics was sparked in childhood, watching his parents and uncles grapple with solving problems in the field. This encouragement turned into a passion, leading him to choose mathematics as a profession.

Having completed his undergraduate and master's degrees at the Federal Fluminense University (UFF), Flamarion arrived at IMPA intending to pursue studies in Pure Mathematics. However, after attending courses at the institute, he decided to switch to Applied Mathematics. He completed a sandwich doctorate, dividing his studies between Brazil and England, at the University of Bath, where he was supervised by Paul Milewski.

In his thesis, he worked on two types of problems: waves generated along a surface and waves generated from the interaction between a current and a topography. For the study, the mathematician used two models: the KdV model (for shallow water channels) and the Euler model (for intermediate depth water channels).

“We showed that in shallow water (KdV) models there is no difference whatsoever if you apply pressure to a surface or obstacle interacting with a topography. The types of waves are the same. But when we leave the shallow water regime, the Euler model comes into play and the differences appear,” he explains.

The future PhD reveals that numerical analyses from his work could be used by oil extraction companies to ensure greater safety and reliability in underwater operations. From a mathematical point of view, he believes that the research could generate conjectures and ideas to be explored in the future by mathematicians in the field of Analysis, consequently producing new theorems.

Despite his experience with a sandwich doctorate in England, the student values the environment at IMPA. “All the students at IMPA are very dedicated and have worked very hard to get here. This greatly helps the development of mathematics within the institute, as we have people with whom to discuss our problems, helping each other.”

Honored by his partnership with Nachbin, who, according to him, greatly helped him in the transition from pure to applied mathematics, Flamarion awaits next month to decide his future. Accepted to do postdoctoral work at the University of Bath, he is still waiting for the results of competitions to become a professor in Brazil to decide which path he should follow. The tide is always in his favor; he just needs to catch the right wave.

SERVICE:

Thesis defense by Marcelo Flamarion

"Models for waves generated due to the interaction of a current with topography"

Date: February 26th | Time: 1 PM | Location: Room 236