Undergraduate Workshop on Dynamics of Excitable Systems
A Theoretical, Experimental and Computational Virtual Hands-On Workshop
April 9, 16, and 23, 2022
• Experience the richness of dynamics that can emerge from seemingly simple systems.
• Learn mathematical methods to study and predict dynamics of complex systems.
• Experiments from simple single oscillators to systems coupled in space.
• Learn about dynamics of emergent behavior in experiments and simulations.
• Apply knowledge of excitable systems to the function of the heart and the study of cardiac arrhythmias.
Instructors: Elizabeth M. Cherry, Christopher D. Marcotte (Georgia Tech Computational Science and Engineering); Flavio H. Fenton, Conner Herndon (Georgia Tech Physics), and Abouzar Kaboudian (Food and Drug Administration)
Apply by Sunday, March 13, 2022 at Spring 2022 DES Workshop
• Priority will be given to early applications
• No cost to participants
• Hands-on materials provided only to participants who are current undergraduate students and are US citizens/permanent residents
• Questions: christopher.marcotte@gatech.edu
Supported by the National Science Foundation!
April 9: From Oscillations to Chaos:
• Color oscillations of the Briggs-Rauscher chemical reaction
• Theory topics, linearization and stability
• Neural dynamics, Fitzhugh-Nagumo(FHN) model in a single cell
• Experiments with a saline oscillator and connection with FHN
• Lorenz model and chaos
• Experiments with the candle oscillator, chaos and periodic orbits
April 16: Propagation and Patterns in 2D:
• Experiments with slime mold
• Mathematical modeling of excitable wave propagation in space
• Patterns in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky chemical reaction
• Dynamics of the Fitzhugh-Nagumo model in space
• Solving a maze (connection with FHN and slime mold)
• Theory of static and dynamic Turing pattern formation
• Interactive computer simulations of Turing patterns in WebGL
April 23: Emergent Dynamics and the Heart:
• Porcine heart dissection, with theory of dynamics and function
• Nonlinear dynamics and chaos behind cardiac arrhythmias
• Arrhythmias in the lab, experiment in a zebrafish heart
• Spiral waves of electrical activity in the heart and 3D scroll waves
• Interactive computer simulations of cardiac arrhythmias with WebGL