Ostoja-Starzewski gives international keynote lectures

 

The research of MechSE Professor Martin Ostoja-Starzewski on constructing continuum theories accounting for spontaneous, random violations of the second law of thermodynamics continues to attract attention in international mechanics and mathematics communities. Such violations occur in mechanical, thermal, and electrical processes on very small space and time scales. 

 

The second law of thermodynamics states that the total entropy of an isolated system always increases over time, or remains constant in ideal cases where the system is in a steady state or undergoing a reversible process. The increase in entropy accounts for the irreversibility of natural processes, and the asymmetry between future and past.

 

In June, Ostoja-Starzewski gave two keynote lectures on the topic—at the Emerging Trends in Applied Mathematics and Mechanics conference (ETAMM-2016) in Perpignan, France, and at the 11th International Congress on Thermal Stresses in Salerno, Italy. 

 

The latter keynote was based on his joint NSF-supported research with graduate student Bharath Raghavan.