Multidisciplinary computational modelling: From planetary science to human populations

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This research project spans two very different areas, which nevertheless can be understood through similar computer-modelling techniques. One is the origin of planetary systems---both our own as well as the nearly 500 that have been discovered to date around other stars. Our previous NSERC-funded work already gave us important new insights into how the characteristics of a planetary system are determined by its very early "birth" environment, and how our own Solar System fits into the picture. One focus of our ongoing work will be the startling, recently-discovered class of "distant giants", Jupiter-like planets moving on orbits that can exceed 100 times the size of Earth's orbit. We will also work to better understand the formation of Earth-like planets around other stars, and how commonly such planets might be habitable. Our second area of research involves modelling human populations. For example, we are interested in is how consumers react to the introduction of "eco-friendly" products into a market (hybrid cars, energy-efficient appliances, etc.), and in understanding ways in which governments can encourage the adoption of such products (e.g. through rebate programs). Another question involves the spread of influenza in a population; here, our major objective is to find optimal vaccination strategies. In each case, we will approach the problem by using a computer model made up of many individual parts that interact with each other by a set of rules. For planets, these are called "N-body simulations", and the rule is simply gravity. For human populations, they are called "agent-based models", and the rules can involve such diverse things as social pressure, product popularity, and infectiousness of flu patients