Titles and Abstracts

Term 1

• Wednesday 7 October 2026: Jens Marklof (University of Bristol):
  

  Title: Randomness in the spectrum of the Laplacian: from flat tori to hyperbolic surfaces of high genus

  Abstract: I will report on recent progress on influential conjectures from the 1970s and 1980s (Berry-Tabor, Bohigas-Giannoni-Schmit), which suggest that the spectral statistics of the Laplace-Beltrami operator on a given compact Riemannian manifold should be described either by a Poisson point process or by a random matrix ensemble, depending on whether the geodesic flow is integrable or “chaotic”. This talk will straddle aspects of analysis, geometry, probability, number theory and ergodic theory, and should be accessible to a broad audience. The two most recent results presented in this lecture were obtained in collaboration with Laura Monk and with Wooyeon Kim and Matthew Welsh.

• Friday 16 October 2026: An afternoon event in honor of Peter Swinnerton-Dyer

• Friday 23 October 2026: Ellen Luckins (University of Warwick):

Title: Multiphase porous-media flows: modelling challenges and applications

Abstract: Flows of multiple fluids (eg: a liquid and a gas) within a porous medium occur in many important areas of geoscience and modern industrial processes. However, in general, we do not have accurate, efficient models to study them. In this talk, I will discuss why these flows are such an interesting challenge to model mathematically and give an overview of some different modelling approaches taken in practice. Simplifications can sometimes be exploited to more carefully understand specific flow processes: I’ll discuss work on evaporation of water from stone or soil, salt weathering, mushy freezing of metal alloys or sea ice, and injection problems in manufacturing composite materials.

• Wednesday 11 November 2026: Gregor Tanner (Nottingham):
• Friday 20 November 2026: Bruno Nachtergaele (UC Davis):
• Friday 27 November 2026: Ginestra Bianconi (Queen Mary):
• Friday 4 December 2026: Andrew Hazel (University of Manchester):
• Wednesday 9 December 2026: Vadim Kaimanovich (Université de Rennes)