Invited Research Seminar: Dr. Hermann Eberl, University of Guelph

Posted: October 24, 2024

Spatio-Temporal Modeling of Cellulosic Biofilm Formation

on the left hand side the text reads " upcoming event. november 6th, 2024: 11:00am enwayaang 106. spatio-temporal modeling of cellulosic biofilm formation. invited research seminar by dr. hermann eberl (mathmatics, university of guelf)". the image is vertically divided in half with an orange, green, and blue line, on the right side the text reads " abstract: cellulosic bioethanol is a renewable energy source produced from non-edible plant material (such as grasses, wood debris, etc). in consolidated bioprocessing cellulythic bacteria are used to degrade the fibrous feedstock and convert it to ethanol. unlike traditional biofilms, which consist of colonies growing on the surface and into the aqueous phase, cellulosic biofilm form crater like depressions that grow into the surface (a.k.a. inverted colony formation). we will present a mathematical model for cellulosic biofilms on the colony scale. the model consists of quasilinear PDE that is coupled in each point of the domain to an ODE

Event Details

Wednesday, November 6, 2024
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
City: Peterborough

Building: ENW
Room: 106

Cellulosic bioethanol is a renewable energy source, produced from non-edible plant material (such as grasses, wood debris, etc). In consolidated bioprocessing cellulolythic bacteria are used to degrade the fibrous feedstock and convert it to ethanol. Unlike traditional biofilms, which consist of colonies growing on the surface and into the aqueous phase, cellulosic biofilm form crater like depressions that grow into the surface (a.k.a inverted colony formation). We will present a mathematical model for cellulosic biofilms on the colony scale. The model consists of quasilinear PDE that is coupled in each point of the domain to an ODE. The PDE comprises two non-linear diffusion effects: porous medium type degenerate diffusion, and super-diffusion. The interplay of both effects is required to describe biofilm formation. We explore the model first numerically and validate it qualitatively against experimental observations. This numerical exploration suggests the existence of stable traveling waves in accordance with some experimental observations, for which we give an existence result (under some conditions on parameters) and a nonexistence result (under other conditions). This has been collaborative work with many people over several years.

Speaker Information: Dr. Hermann Eberl is a Professor of Mathematics and the Director of the Biophysics Interdepartmental Graduate Program at the University of Guelph. His research is broadly focussed on Mathematical Biology and Engineering. His application-driven work focuses on modelling, analysis and computer simulation of biological and bio/environmental engineering systems.

Contact Info

Dr. Arun Moorthy: arunmoorthy@trentu.ca