What do you profess, Professor?
- Wits University
Professor Shirley Abelman of the School of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics speaks about her life in research.
Professor Shirley Abelman from the School of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics celebrated her Inaugural Lecture on 31 May.
Abelman said an inaugural lecture was the highlight of an academic’s career as it celebrates the academic’s scholarship achievements and allows the professor to showcase his or her research career to the community.
As an expert in the study of fluid dynamics and computational mathematics, Abelman has applied her studies to a number of multidisciplinary research projects, such as working on intervention strategies for diseases such as malaria and Tuberculosis, as well as applying mathematical principles on finance models.
In her lecture she gave special interest to fluid dynamics in nanofluids.
The study of fluid dynamics is fundamental to many scientific problems and engineering applications. It covers the range from very large scale phenomena, to very small scale.
Nanofluids are fluid suspensions of nanometre-sized particles and they have recently been demonstrated to have thermal conductivities that are far superior to that of the liquid alone.
The aim of the science is to enhance fluid microscopic and mega-scale properties such as thermal conductivity, through manipulating microscopic physics, structures properties, and activities.