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About KI-Net

Welcome to the KI-Net!

 A new NSF Research Network in Mathematical Sciences: 

"Kinetic description of emerging challenges in multiscale problems of natural sciences".

Geographic Distribution of KI-Net


In the last two decades, kinetic equations have emerged as an indispensable tool for a quantitative description of diverse phenomena, from semi-conductors, polymers and plasma, to cell migrations, swarming, and neuron networks, to traffic, social and economic networking. The main objective of KI-Net is encouraging cross-fertilization between mathematics and other scientific disciplines, and bringing the full range of mathematical techniques to bear on important scientific challenges in multiscale modeling of new phenomena in physical, biological and social sciences. The main intellectual focus is on the development, analysis, computation, and application of novel kinetic descriptions which address challenging problems in the primary areas of

  • Quantum dynamics with applications to chemistry
  • Network dynamics with applications to social sciences
  • Kinetic models of biological processes

In addition to fostering new collaborations, the KI-Net objectives are to train a future generation of researchers to address emerging challenges in the three areas mentioned above, and to maintain the leading edge of the US on the international stage in this field, particularly through collaboration with the world leading KI-Net nodes. KI-Net is offering a unique platform to carry out these objectives. The network is centered around the following three hubs, which inter-connect 20 nodes through a series of edges involving their core participants

  • The Center for Scientific Computation and Mathematical Modeling (CSCAMM) hub at the University of Maryland
    (PI: Eitan Tadmor; NSF Grant #: 1107444)
  • The Institute for Computational and Engineering Science (ICES) hub at the University of Texas-Austin
    (PI: Irene Gamba; NSF Grant #: 1107465)
  • The Department of Mathematics hub at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
    (PI: Shi Jin; NSF Grant #: 1107291)

These are the main participating collaborative units in the 2008-2011 NSF Focused Research Group on "Kinetic description of multiscale phenomena". Indeed, the proposed KI-Net is a natural outgrowth of the kinetic FRG.

Eitan Tadmor
KI-Net Director