Arjen Doelman (Leiden) Scientific Networks - the Lorentz Center -

Active research mathematician Pattern Formation: mathematics in interaction with the earth and life sciences. Some examples - Riverbed dynamics - Nonlinear tides - Spatial structure of phytoplankton populations Personal background

Complexity Vegetation Patterns and Desertification Environmental Sciences ↔ Mathematics Group of Max Rietkerk (UU) `Critical transitions and early-warning signals in spatial ecosystems'

Mission Statement The Lorentz Center is an international center that coordinates and hosts workshops in the sciences, based on the philosophy that science thrives on interaction between creative researchers. Lorentz Center workshops focus on new collaborations and interactions between scientists from different countries and fields, and with varying seniority. Vision Workshops should be organized from the point of view of the active researcher. The Lorentz Center

Advanced Study Centers in US and Europe 1.KITP Santa Barbara 2.MSRI Berkeley 3.Aspen Center for Physics 4.IMA Minneapolis 5.Princeton 6.Newton Institute, Cambridge 7.MPI-PKS Dresden 8.IHES + IHP Paris 9.Bad Honnef + Oberwolfach 10.Dagstuhl 11.ECT Trento 12.ICTP Trieste Mostly monodisciplinary (exact sciences); Long periods (3-5 months); Emphasis on seniors.

Distinguishing features of the Lorentz Center Short visits: direct personal discussions as alternative for overwhelming literature Restricted program: time for reflection and interaction Interaction between juniors and seniors Strong embedding in monodisciplines Multi- disciplinary growth

A brief history 1997 `Bottom up’ initiative by an astronomer, a mathematician and a physicist from Leiden University (a priori only local) Focus on `mono-disciplines’ - astronomy, computer science, mathematics & physics Focus on workshops of 1-2 weeks Local initiative → National Center (+ funding) present Life Sciences present Collaboration with NIAS - interdisciplinary workshops between sciences and humanities present Computational Sciences 2011 A second, parallel, Lorentz Center (?)

Participants: number and background Europa zonder NL NL USA Canada

Impact New cooperation projects and direct effect Increases quality and vitality of research in the Netherlands Attracts leading experts to the Netherlands ( → visits to other institutes!) Inspiration to, and scouting of, young talents Cross-fertilization between research areas Opening up interdisciplanary interactions based on a strong embedding in mono-disciplines

The collaboration with NIAS Crossing the boundaries & building bridges between the (exact) sciences and the humanities, social sciences and arts Yearly Distinguished Lorentz Fellowships 2010, Richard Gill: Science meets Justice: forensic statistics at the interface Workshops

Life Sciences Organization Stan Gielen (physics) Stepan van Gils (mathematics) Michel van Putten (clinical neurophysiology) David Terman (mathematics) From the `Description and Aim’ `This meeting brings together experimentalists, theoreticians and clinical neurophysiologists to share experimental and theoretical results, with special emphasis on applications of the theoretical concepts for Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.’

Computational Sciences Organization Arjen Doelman, Keith Promislow (math) Stephen Paddison (chemistry) From the `Description and Aim’ The goal of this workshop is to bring together the diverse international community of computational material scientists, computational chemists, and applied and computational mathematicians to address the fundamental thermodynamics which drives the structure function relationships in existing and novel nanostructured materials. Theme: Efficient energy conversion

The future Extending our foundation: mono-disciplines (chemistry, earth sciences, …) Increasing our interdisciplinary activities (computer science, humanities, social sciences, …) Science & Industry Other activities (winterschools, PhD meetings) From 50 to 100 weeks/year