Dr. Nadja Ray

PD Dr. Nadja Ray

Department of Mathematics
Chair of Applied Mathematics (Modeling and Numerics) (N.N.)

Room: Raum 04.336
Cauerstraße 11
91058 Erlangen

Head of junior research group (FAU-NGL)

Education

  • 06/2016 – 07/2020: Habilitation in Applied Mathematics, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
  • 12/2008 – 05/2013: Dissertation in Applied Mathematics, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
  • 10/2002 – 03/2008: Diploma in mathematics with minor theoretical physics, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
  • 09/1993 – 06/2002: Abitur, Emmy-Norther-Gymnasium (grammar school), Erlangen

Work experience

  • 09/2022 – present: Professor for Geomatics and Geomathematics at MIDS, KU Eichstätt-Ingolstadt
    (https://www.ku.de/mids)
  • 2022 – present: Principle investigator DFG SPP 2089
  • 01/2022 – present: Principle investigator DAAD PPP Finland
  • 05/2021 – present: Private lecturer
  • 04/2020 – 08/2022: DFG temporary position for principal investigators
  • 01/2020 – present: Head of junior research group status (Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg)
  • 04/2018 – present: Principle investigator DFG RTG 2339
  • 01/2016 – 12/2017: Principle investigator DAAD PPP Norway
  • 10/2015 – present: Principle investigator DFG RU 2179
  • 10/2012 – 03/2018: Research associate at Chair of Applied Mathematics I, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
  • 10/2012 – 03/2017: DFG RTG 1773 coordinator at Chair of Computer Graphics, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
  • 04/2008 – 11/2008: Research associate at Chair of Applied Mathematics I, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

International experience

  • 05/2022: Hasselt/Belgium, host: Prof. Dr. Sorin Pop (1 week)
  • 10/2021: Bratislava/Slovakia, host: Prof. Dr. Peter Frolkovic (1 week)
  • 11/2019: Bratislava/Slovakia, host: Prof. Dr. Peter Frolkovic (1 week)
  • 03/2018: Hasselt/Belgium, host: Prof. Dr. Sorin Pop (1 week)
  • 11/2016: Bergen/Norway, host: Prof. Dr. Kundan Kumar (1 week)
  • 08/2016: Bergen/Norway, host: Prof. Dr. Kundan Kumar (1 week)
  • 03/2012: Bergen/Norway, host: Prof. Dr. Florin A. Radu (1 week)
  • 09/2010 – 10/2010: Eindhoven/The Netherlands, host: Dr. Adrian Muntean (4 weeks)
  • 02/2006 – 06/2006: Semester abroad, Florence, Italy (Erasmus)

Fellowships/Awards

  • 10/2021: Habilitation prize (Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg), award for outstanding habilitation
  • 10/2016 – 09/2017: Women’s prize of the faculty of natural sciences, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (1/2 TVL E13 PhD position for 12 month)
  • 2014: Dr.-Körper-Preis 2014 (GAMM) for outstanding PhD thesis
  • 12/2011 – 09/2012: PhD scholarship, “Förderung der Chancengleichheit für Frauen in Forschung und Lehre”, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
  • 01/2009 – 09/2011: PhD scholarship, Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes
  • 12/2008 – 11/2011: PhD scholarship, Deutsche Telekom Stiftung
  • 02/2003 – 03/2008: Student scholarship, Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes

Research interests

  • Multiscale modeling, upscaling, homogenization
  • Porous media applications including evolving microstructures
  • Soil microaggregates
  • Electrohydrodynamics

Publications

For recent research work and pdf files, please check also the preprint series.

Projects

  • P25: Multiscale modeling with evolving microstructure: An approach to emergence in the rhizosphere via effective soil functions

    (Third Party Funds Single)

    Term: 01-11-2022 - 31-10-2025
    Funding source: DFG / Schwerpunktprogramm (SPP)
    Abstract

    To couple three interwoven areas of rhizosphere research “Processes, Methods and Applications”, we utilize and improve mechanistic, mathematical models in forms of combined cellular automata and PDE/ODE systems on the microscale, offering the opportunity to bridge scales by homogenization techniques. The
    systematic study of the interaction of transformation processes in the rhizosphere focussing on mucilage and root hairs, and its couplings to soil structure, geochemistry, microbiology, and to upscaled soil
    functions will contribute to the focal question of the PP, how resilience emerges from self-organised spatiotemporal pattern formation in the rhizosphere.

    In more detail:

    H1: The development of the selforganization in the rhizosphere in connection with the spatiotemporal
    patterns of nutrients, water and biomass can be studied with the realized extension of the existing model and simulation tool now in relation to the data of phase 1.

    H2: The connection between soil structure formation, habitat conditions - also influenced by the
    production and degradation of mucilage - and the microbial communities.

    H3: The size of the rhizosphere is determined by the radial extent of pattern formation controlled by root
    activity/morphology. We want to study in particular the interaction of soil structure (in particular porosity), root exudates and transport properties relevant for the plant. Thus we address the focal topics
    aggregate formation / soil structure with pore scale modeling and water flux / mucilage.

    We refer in particular to the following research questions of phase 2:

    III. How do carbon flow and structure interact (with P19, P22)?

    V. What is the relevance of mucilage for the soilplant system regarding drought resilience, but also mechanistic understanding for mucilage at the microscale - evidence for relevance at system scale, plant-soil system is still lacking (with P4,P5,P23,P24)

    VI. What is the mechanistic function of root hairs - quantify the maintenance of hydraulic continuity, the effect on nutrients uptake, and extension of depletion zones (with P7,P4)

    In close cooperation with the experimental partners we evaluate the interplay of the mechanisms in concrete PP rhizosphere settings, and will also refer to the spatiotemporal patterns identified by P21 from high resolution correlative imaging. The necessary basis for 3D simulations will be the parallelized, efficient algorithms, and machine learning techniques to systematically explore the upscaling of soil functions. The simulation tool delivers its value through the capability to illustrate, compare, and reveal influencing factors and mechanisms by abstracting relevant processes. It is not intended to ’redraw’ data curves of the experiments but to gain new insights through the ability to analyze separately, but also to study the interplay of several processes in an integrative simulation. Thus it intends to bridge a knowledge gap that laboratory experiments can currently not fill alone.

  • DG Methoden und Parameterschätzer für Mikrostrukturmodelle in porösen Medien

    (Third Party Funds Single)

    Term: 01-01-2022 - 31-12-2023
    Funding source: Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD)

  • DAAD Projektbezogener Personenaustausch mit Finnland

    DG Methoden und Parameterschätzer für Mikrostrukturmodelle in porösen Medien

    (Third Party Funds Single)

    Term: 01-01-2022 - 31-12-2023
    Funding source: Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD)

  • Mechanistic, Integrative Multiscale Modelling of the Turnover of Soil Microaggregates

    (Third Party Funds Group – Sub project)

    Overall project: MAD Soil - Microaggregates: Formation and turnover of the structural building blocks of soils
    Term: 01-04-2020 - 31-08-2024
    Funding source: DFG-Einzelförderung / Sachbeihilfe (EIN-SBH)
    Abstract
    The grand goal of this group is the development, analytical, and numerical investigation of a mechanistic model describing processes of formation, stability, and turnover of soil micro-aggregates. In contrast to existing conceptual aggregation models and compartment models for carbon turnover and aggregation, we focus on specific, experimentally identified transformation processes of soil micro-aggregates. Since we are interested in giving an improved mechanistic, qualitative and even quantitative description of aggregation, we transfer the gained insights to a mechanistic model in terms of ordinary differential equations (ODEs), partial differential equations (PDEs), and perhaps algebraic equations (AEs). To that end, we aim to take into account information/identified processes on different spatial scales as well as spatial heterogeneity and variability. All our modeling is done in a rigorous, deterministic way and our modeling concepts are based on continuum mechanics. We start our investigations at the pore scale and apply multiscale techniques to obtain a comprehensive mathematical model at the macroscale (bottom up). In particular, the interplay of geochemistry and microbiology is considered, and also their link to soil functions. The coupled ODE/PDE systems and complex micro-macro problems cannot be treated numerically with standard software packages. The number of species, the nonlinearity of the processes and the heterogeneity of the medium results in a high computational effort that requires accurate and efficient discretization methods and solution algorithms. Moreover sophisticated numerical multiscale methods have to be applied. In our simulations, we do not aim to recreate reality in every detail. Instead, we aim to illustrate, compare, and reveal influencing factors and mechanisms by abstracting relevant processes.

  • Mechanistische, integrative Mehrskalenmodellierung der Umwandlung von Bodenmikroaggregaten

    (Third Party Funds Single)

    Term: 01-11-2019 - 31-10-2022
    Funding source: DFG-Einzelförderung / Sachbeihilfe (EIN-SBH)

  • Interfaces, complex structures, and singular limits in continuum mechanics

    (Third Party Funds Group – Overall project)

    Term: 01-04-2018 - 30-09-2022
    Funding source: DFG / Graduiertenkolleg (GRK)

  • Mechanistic modelling of the formation and consolidation of soil microaggregates

    (Third Party Funds Group – Sub project)

    Overall project: DFG RU 2179 “MAD Soil - Microaggregates: Formation and turnover of the structural building blocks of soils”
    Term: 01-01-2016 - 31-12-2019
    Funding source: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)

  • German-Norwegian collaborative research support scheme

    (Third Party Funds Single)

    Term: 01-01-2016 - 31-12-2017
    Funding source: Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD)
    Abstract

    Homogenisierung reaktiven Transports in variablen Mikrostrukturen

Talks

  • 30.05. – 02.06.2022: 14th International Conference on Porous Media & Annual Meeting, online participation
  • 23. – 27.05.2022: European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2022, Vienna/Austria (hybrid)
  • 21. – 24.06.2021: SIAM Conference on Mathematical and Computational Issues in the Geosciences, online
  • 31.05. – 04.06.2021: 13th International Conference on Porous Media & Annual Meeting, online
  • 15. – 19.03.2021: Oberwolfach Workshop on Homogenization theory: periodic and beyond, Oberwolfach/Germany
  • 01. – 02.01.2021: InterPore German Chapter Meeting 2021, online
  • 06. – 10.05.2019: 11th International Conference on Porous Media & Annual Meeting, Valencia/Spain
  • 07. – 12.04.2019: European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2019, Vienna/Austria
  • 10. – 14.03.2019: SIAM Conference on Mathematical and Computational Issues in the Geosciences, Houston/Texas/USA
  • 26.08. – 01.09.2018: Oberwolfach Workshop on Reactive Flows in Deformable, Complex Media , Oberwolfach/Germany
  • 03. – 07.06.2018: Computational Methods in Water Resources (CMWR 2018), Saint Malo/France
  • 11. – 14.09.2017: SIAM Conference on Mathematical and Computational Issues in the Geosciences, Erlangen/Germany
  • 13.08. – 18.08.2017: Goldschmidt Conference, Paris/France
  • 22.08.2016: Seminar talk, University of Bergen, Bergen/Norway
  • 19. – 24.06.2016: Computational Methods in Water Resources (CMWR 2016), Toronto/Canada
  • 17. – 22.04.2016: European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2016, Vienna/Austria
  • 29.06. – 02.07.2015: SIAM Conference on Mathematical and Computational Issues in the Geosciences, Stanford/USA
  • 18. -21.05.2015: 7th International Conference on Porous Media & Annual Meeting, Padova/Italy
  • 21. – 27.09.2014: Oberwolfach Workshop on Reactive Flows in Deformable, Complex Media , Oberwolfach/Germany
  • 10. – 13.07.2014: Computational Methods in Water Resources (CMWR 2014), Stuttgart/Germany
  • 22.05.2014: Seminar talk, University of Augsburg/Germany
  • 21. – 25.05.2013: 5th International Conference on Porous Media & Annual Meeting, Prague/Czech Republic
  • 17. – 23.03.2013: Oberwolfach Workshop on Interplay of Theory and Numerics for Deterministic and Stochastic Homogenization, Oberwolfach/Germany
  • 24./25.04.2012: International SimTech Symposium Mathematical Modeling: Contact Mechanics, Phase Transitions, Multiscale Problems, Stuttgart/Germany
  • 07. – 10.08.2012: SIAM Conference on the Life Sciences, San Diego/California/USA
  • 26.03.2012: Seminar talk, University of Bergen, Bergen/Norway
  • 13. – 15.06.2011: The Mathematics of Porous Media, Split/Croatia
  • 25.03.2011: SIAM Conference on Mathematical and Computational Issues in the Geosciences, Long Beach/California/USA
  • 08.11.2010: Colloid Workshop, Erlangen/Germany
  • 10.10.2010: International Workshop on Modeling, Simulation, and Optimization, Erlangen/Germany
  • 15.09.2010: CASA Seminar, University of Eindhoven, Eindhoven/The Netherlands
  • 25. – 28.05.2010: 8th AIMS Conference on Dynamical Systems, Differential Equations, and Applications, Dresden/Germany
  • 05. – 07.10.2009: International Conference on Non-linearities and Upscaling in Porous Media, Stuttgart/Germany


Posters

  • 06. -10.05.2019: 11th International Conference on Porous Media & Annual Meeting, Valencia/Spain
  • 14. – 17.02.2011: Analytical and numerical methods for multiscale systems, Heidelberg/Germany
  • 15. – 18.06.2009: SIAM Conference on Mathematical and Computational Issues in the Geosciences, Leipzig/Germany

Participated Conferences und Courses

  • 31.08. -04.09.2020: 12th International Conference on Porous Media & Annual Meeting, online
  • 25. – 30.09.2011: Riemann International School of Mathematics Multiphase and Multiphysics Problems, Verbania/Italy
  • 24./25.2.2009: Season School Reactive transport in porous media: Models, analysis, and simulation, Jena/Germany
  • 19. – 24.4.2009: General European Geoscience Union (EGU), Wien/Austria
  • 09. – 13.02.2009: 80th Annual Meeting of the International Association for Applied Mathematics and Mechanics (GAMM), Danzig/Poland

Starting in winter semester 2022/23:
B.Sc. Data Science at KU Eichstätt-Ingolstadt — Further Information: Flyer (DE), Flyer (EN), Poster (DE), Poster (EN)

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Certificate for Teaching in Higher Education of the Bavarian Universities

  • 11/2019: Evaluationen und Umfragen mit StudOn
  • 11/2019: Die Tafel professionell nutzen
  • 09/2019: Vielfalt in der Lehre: Umgang mit Beeinträchtigungen
  • 09/2019: Mathematik-Aufgaben digital gestalten (Einführungskurs in STACK)
  • 06/2019: Schneller, höher, weiter – studentische Arbeitsgruppen und Projektteams wirksam
    (an)leiten
  • 06/2019: Examining and Assessing in English
  • 05/2019: Presenting in English
  • 05/2019: Grundlagen der Hochschuldidaktik – Planung einer Lehrveranstaltung

Further Seminars

  • 07/2015: Basics of business administration, RTG 1773
  • 03/2015: Conflict management and conversational skills, RTG 1773
  • 02/2012: Public relations in science, Graduate school FAU
  • 07/2011: Negotiation skills, Deutsche Telekom Stiftung
  • 02/2011: Presentation Skills, Deutsche Telekom Stiftung
  • 12/2010: Time management and management in teaching, Graduate school FAU
  • 03/2010: Project and  time management, Deutsche Telekom Stiftung
  • 09/2009: Team and leadership competence in science and beyond; Networking for researchers, Deutsche Telekom Stiftung
  • 05/2009: Intercultural Communication Workshop, Deutsche Telekom Stiftung

 

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