Abstract:

In 1908, Poincaré asked: "Why is it that storms seem to arise by chance, so that many people find it quite natural to pray for rain or good weather, while they consider it ridiculous to pray for an eclipse?" A hundred years later, we understand, to some extent, the answer to this question. I will give some historical background and describe some simple mathematical models that help us understand the nature of the chaotic and unpredictable.

Biography:

After obtaining his Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics at the University of Warwick, UK, Stefano Luzzatto held an internship at Marlboro College, Vermont, USA where he obtained an MSc in Philosophy of Mathematics Education. In 1995 he obtained a PhD in Dynamical Systems at the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), Trieste, Italy and the Instituto de Matematica Pura e Aplicada (IMPA), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, under the supervision of Jacob Palis and Marcelo Viana. He then returned to Warwick for a postdoctoral position before moving to a permanent position at Imperial College in 2000, first as a Lecturer and then as a Reader. In 2009 he moved to the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), a Category 1 UNESCO institute in Trieste, Italy, where he currently holds the position of Senior Research Scientist. Stefano is also the founder and director of the International Mathematics Master (IMM), an international capacity building programme. Stefano's research is in the area of Dynamical Systems and Ergodic Theory.