Stephanos Venakides

Venakides

Professor of Mathematics

Fields of work: Pure and applied mathematics, physics and biology. Specific areas: Differential equations,  integrable systems, acoustic and electromagnetic scattering (especially transmission anomalies and resonances), photonic crystals, exciton polaritons and micromagnetics.

Invited as one of the three Abel lecturers in the award of the Abel Prize to Peter Lax, The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, Oslo, Norway, May 2005

http://www.abelprize.no/c57575/seksjon/vis.html?tid=58729

    Appointments and Affiliations

    • Professor of Mathematics
    • Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Mathematics

    Contact Information

    • Office Location: 120 Science Drive, Durham, NC 27708, Durham, NC 27708
    • Office Phone: +1 919 660 2815
    • Email Address: ven@math.duke.edu
    • Websites:

    Education

    • Ph.D. New York University, 1982
    • M.S. Georgia Institute of Technology, 1979
    • B.S. National Technical University of Athens (Greece), 1969

    Research Interests

    MICROMAGNETICS 
       This area of physics deals with the  magnetic behaviors at micrometer and sub-micrometer length scales. The area is of  significant scientific and technological importance and involves challenging  mathematical questions.  The theory includes the statics and dynamics of topological configurations, e.g.
    magnetic vortex and antivortex states as well as skyrmion states.  I am working collaboratively on the mathematical derivation of skyrmion profiles and  behaviors and currently on skyrmion dynamics. Skyrmions are localized structures  of magnetization  on a thin plate of a ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic medium. They can be stationary, traveling or breathing (pulsating).  The mathematical study seeks to explain experimental results, or discover new phenomena and is assisted by numerical experiments. Besides single skyrmions, our study encompases skyrmion collisions, which exhibit the interesting behavior of ninety degree scattering.  

    ACOUSTIC AND ELECTROMAGNETIC SCATTERING: THEORETICAL AND COMPUTATIONAL
       The study encompasses acoustic and electromagnetic scattering from a spatially periodic geometry and combines mathematical analysis with numerical calculations.

    Courses Taught

    • MATH 754: Introduction to Partial Differential Equations
    • MATH 753: Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations
    • MATH 453: Introduction to Partial Differential Equations
    • MATH 353: Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations

    Representative Publications

    • Komineas, S; Melcher, C; Venakides, S, Chiral skyrmions of large radius, Physica D: Nonlinear Phenomena, vol 418 (2021) [10.1016/j.physd.2020.132842] [abs].