Ion Transport: Electrodiffusion, Electrohydrodynamics and Homogenization (16w5118)

The Banff International Research Station will host the "Ion Transport: Electrodiffusion, Electrohydrodynamics and Homemgenization" workshop from May 29th to June 3rd, 2016.

Tremendous progress has been made in the past century in biological sciences thanks to technological advances in experimental and measuring techniques. As in physics and chemistry in the history, biological sciences are at a critical juncture where further advancements depend and rely crucially on the development of now quantitative tools. Mathematics will inevitably play a crucial role during the processes while biology comes increasingly more quantitative as a scientific discipline.

Bio-ions and biomolecules are essential in performing biological functions in living organisms. The understanding of their roles in nerve and physiological functions has fundamental importance, as demonstrated by several Noble prize winning researchers since the prize was established. For example, Cajal shared the 1906 prize for his discovery of synaptic transmission in neural communication. Hodgkin and Huxley won the 1963 prize for their discoveries concerning the ionic mechanism involved in the excitation and inhibition in the nerve cells. The detailed discovery of the functions of single ion channels came much later, which was recognized by the 1991 prize awarded to Neher and Sakmann.

Real biological problems of ion transport are characterized by interaction on all scales and no living biological systems can function without flows. Working on problems from living biological systems requires mathematics that describes interactions of ions at atomic scale as well as the organ scale. These problems are inherently multi disciplinary and they present formidable challenges as well as fantastic opportunities for modellers, analysts, and computational scientists.

In this workshop, we bring researchers and experts in the fields of studying ionic solutions of physical chemistry and biology as complex fluid. We focuses on exploring useful tools to deal with ions in solutions and near ion channels, proteins, and electrodes. The workshop will provide a forum for researchers from
a diverse background to exchange ideas and discuss future directions for advancing research to meet the challenges in this fascinating area. It will also expose the students and young researchers to this exciting field.

The Banff International Research Station for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery (BIRS) is a collaborative Canada-US-Mexico venture that provides an environment for creative interaction as well as the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and methods within the Mathematical Sciences, with related disciplines and with industry. The research station is located at The Banff Centre in Alberta and is supported by Canada's Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Alberta's Advanced Education and Technology, and Mexico's Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT)..