Let's talk about the future of mathematical modelling for our water futures

"Water Challenges in a Changing World” seminar series of Institute of Global Innovation

Let’s talk about the future of mathematical modelling for our water futures

by Dr Saman Ravazi from University of Saskatchewan, Canada

This talk reviews the principles of mathematical modelling, both process-based and data-driven, and discusses why modelling is a craft more than a science. Some modelling issues raised by uncertainty and non-stationarity of the future water systems are discussed, and recent ‘systems’ approaches to address the issues are outlined. The speaker will share and discuss the following three questions during the seminar:

(1)          Is Occam’s Razor dead in mathematical modelling, given the models’ ever-increasing complexity?

(2)          Are we stepping in the right direction in the era of big data and computational power?

(3)          How can machine learning help and how can we reconcile it with mechanistic modelling?

Saman Ravazi (University of Saskatchewan, Canada) is visiting the University of Birmingham as an Institute of Advanced Studies Vanguard Visiting Fellow until the 30 October. He is our first IAS visitor in Birmingham since the outbreak of the pandemic. Saman is an Associate Professor in the School of Environment and Sustainability and a Member Global Institute for Water Security. His expertise is in hydrologic modelling and water resources systems planning/ management. https://sens.usask.ca/people/faculty/core-faculty/razavi-saman.php