J. Tinsley Oden

Biography

J. Tinsley Oden is the founding Director of the Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences (ICES), which was created in January of 2003 as an expansion of the Texas Institute for Computational and Applied Mathematics, also directed by Oden for over a decade. The Institute supports broad interdisciplinary research and academic programs in computational engineering and sciences, involving five colleges and 18 academic departments within UT Austin.

Research Interest

Dr. Oden has worked extensively on the mathematical theory and implementation of numerical methods applied to problems in solid and fluid mechanics and, particularly, nonlinear continuum mechanics. His current research focuses on the subject of multiscale modeling and on new theories and methods his group has developed for what they refer to as "adaptive modeling." The core of any computer simulation is the mathematical model used to study the physical system of interest. They have developed methods that estimate modeling error and adapt the choices of models to control error. This has proven to be a powerful approach for multiscale problems. Applications include semiconductors manufacturing at the nanoscale level. Dr. Oden, along with ICES researchers, is also working on adaptive control methods in laser treatment of cancer, particularly prostate cancer. This work involves the use of dynamic-data-driven systems to predict and control the outcome of laser treatments using our adaptive modeling strategies. His most recent work focuses on predictive science involving the use of Bayesian statistics to validate multiscale models of atomistic and molecular systems.