Zu Chongzhi Center awards four grants on Mathematics and Computational Sciences

1 Feb 2023

In 2022, the Zu Chongzhi Center for Mathematics and Computational Sciences called for proposals for Mathematics and Computation-related research activities for the AY 2022 – 2023. Now we are pleased to announce that the Zu Chongzhi Center will fund four proposals submitted by Prof. Dang Xing Chen, Prof. Pengzhan Guo, Prof. Marcus Werner, and Prof. Shixin Xu.

From left to right: Prof. Dang Xing Chen, Prof. Pengzhan Guo, Prof. Marcus Werner, Prof. Shixin Xu

Prof. Dang Xing Chen’s project concerns the development of computational skills. Undergraduate teaching assistants will be hired to lead coding recitations to assist students who do not have prior coding experience. Exercises will include both artificial and real-world problems with a focus on quantitative finance, stochastic processes, and numerical analysis problems.

Prof. Pengzhan Guo’s grant will support his research on long-term customizable career path recommendation (CPR). He aims at building an objective function that is capable of delivering personalized long-term career plans and developing efficient and effective searching algorithms to achieve the optimal solution of CPR based on simulated annealing and machine learning techniques.

Prof. Marcus Werner’s grant will be used to organize a Focus Day on Gravitational Waves (GW), to introduce and attract students to the interdisciplinary science of GW. The Focus Day will consist of lectures to introduce GW science and the differential geometry underlying it, and research talks by external experts on a variety of GW-related topics both from China and abroad.

Finally, Prof. Shixin Xu’s grant will support his research project on Simulation of Moving Contact Lines and Mass Transportation in Three Dimensions. He aims at simulating the contact line dynamics in three dimensions and developing a phase field model for mass transport with semi-permeable interfaces in three dimensions. A DKU undergraduate student will be involved in this project.

Launched in 2019, the Zu Chongzhi Center for Mathematics and Computational Sciences is committed to become a world-renowned focal point of disciplinary and interdisciplinary research in Mathematics and Computational Sciences with an emphasis on the intersection of applied mathematics and computational methods. The Center strengthens and cultivates innovation in teaching key courses on mathematics and computational sciences at DKU, and provides research opportunities and mentoring to both undergraduate and graduate students.

 
 
Chenkai Wu, professor of global health at Duke Kunshan University

Frailty is a complex age-related clinical syndrome that affects around 10 percent of older people living in the community worldwide. It can make those individuals more vulnerable to injury and less capable of looking after themselves.

While there have been some advances in frailty research, progress in understanding it has remained slow, according to Wu, whose article sets out three main areas he believes research should focus on.

The first of these is to resolve debates over how to measure frailty. Numerous frailty measurements have been proposed over the years, but no consensus has been reached on which to use. This has to be resolved, he says, ideally with the acceptance of a “simple, rapid and inexpensive measure” that would be suitable for widespread use.

Secondly, urgent action is needed to expand frailty research to less developed regions, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, he says, which would help with forward planning and the more effective use of resources to tackle the issue.

Thirdly, there should be a greater focus on improving the quality of life among the frail, he says, and identifying ways to reduce or counteract health risks to them.

“Identifying socioeconomic, lifestyle, and health features that could mitigate frailty-induced health risks and promote resilience is critical for guiding patient-centred management of frailty,” his commentary says.

The three research directions set out in his article, could complement existing frailty research, says Wu, leading to better assessments of the issue by health professionals and ultimately improving the health and well-being of older adults living with frailty.

 

 

Innovation Building 3033, Duke Kunshan University
No.8 Duke Ave, Kunshan, Jiangsu, China, 215316
Email: DKU-MATH@dukekunshan.edu.cn

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