The Institute for Numerical Modelling Has Been Established
On December 30th, 2019 rector magnificus of the University of Latvia signed the order to form the Institute of Numerical Modelling (INM) under the Faculty of Physics, Mathematics and Optometry.
The Institute is based on the Laboratory for Mathematical Modeling of Environmental and Technological Processes, established in 1994, which has grown radically over 25 years of expansion.
More than 30 researchers, including 10 PhDs, 3 post-doctoral students and 7 doctoral students, begin work at the new Institute at the House of Science of the University of Latvia. However, the thematic backbone of research remains unchanged – developing mathematical modeling approaches and applications of high-performance computing technology (HPC) to study the diverse physical processes of nature and technology.
Professor Juris Mikelsons was the initiator of this avenue of research and in 1970 he established the Department of Electrodynamics and Continuum Mechanics. Leading researchers of the newly created institute are graduates of the department whose scientific interests determine the internal structure of the institute. Three research laboratories have been established: (1) environmental processes, (2) silicon technology, and (3) multiphysical processes.
As of 2020, research project portfolio includes both development of geospatial information WEB services (Mercury Satellite Data Analysis Project) and three ERDF co-funded projects, including open source software development for aiding complex magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) process modelling and hardware design.
Industrial research is also important for the institute: e.g., the development of alternatives to large diameter silicon single crystal technologies in Latvia. Latvian and European companies (such as Siltronic AG in Germany), as well as municipalities and state institutions are partners in applied research. The total annual funding of the projects is approximately one million euros.
Dr. Phys. Uldis Bethers has been elected as a Director of the Institute of Numerical Modelling, while the Institute’s Scientific Council is led by Dr. Phys. Andris Jakovics.
