Speaker:Junping Wang, National Science Foundation
Title: Weak Galerkin Finite Element Methods for PDEs

Abstract: This talk shall introduce a new numerical technique, called weak Galerkin finite element method (WG), for partial differential equations. The talk will start with the second order elliptic equation, for which WG shall be applied and explained in detail. In particular, the concept of weak gradient will be introduced and discussed for its role in the design of weak Galerkin finite element schemes. The speaker will then introduce a general notion of weak differential operators, such as weak Hessian, weak divergence, and weak curl etc. These weak differential operators shall serve as building blocks for WG finite element methods for other class of partial differential equations, such as the Stokes equation, the biharmonic equation for thin plate bending, the Maxwell equations in electron magnetics theory, and div-curl problems. The speaker will demonstrate how WG can be applied to each of the application. Furthermore, a mathematical convergence theory shall be briefly given for some applications. The talk should be accessible to graduate students with adequate training in computational methods.

Time: Friday, January 30, 2015, 1:30-2:30 p.m.

Place: Exploratory Hall, Room 4106

Department of Mathematical Sciences
George Mason University
4400 University Drive, MS 3F2
Fairfax, VA 22030-4444
http://math.gmu.edu/
Tel. 703-993-1460, Fax. 703-993-1491