- Fellowship in 2011 at Ohio State University
Dr. King-Yeung Lam received his B.Sc. degree in Mathematics from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2006 and his Ph.D. degree at the University of Minnesota in 2011.
In 2011-2012, he joined the Department of Mathematics, Ohio State University as a Zassenhaus Assistant Professor. In 2012 he is supported by the Croucher Postdoctoral Fellowship to continue his research at the Mathematical Biosciences Institute, one of eight US mathematical institutes funded by the Division of Mathematical Sciences at the National Science Foundation.
Currently
Dr. Lam is interested in the application of reaction-diffusion equations in theoretical Ecology. His current work focuses on the effects of spatial heterogeneity and non-random transport in biological processes, which lead to new and significant mathematical challenges.
Reaction-diffusion equations have been used extensively in mathematical ecology as models for the dynamics and interactions of spatially structured populations. They provide a way of translating assumptions about local rates of movement, reproduction, and mortality into global conclusions about the persistence of populations and the structure of communities. They can be derived as continuum limits of spatially discrete stochastic processes. There are three major types of phenomena that can arise in reaction-diffusion models: traveling wavefronts, the formation of patterns in homogeneous space, and the presence of lower bounds on the sizes of domains that will support non-zero solutions or solutions with spatial patterns. Thus, they can be used to address issues related to biological invasions, spatial patterning, and critical patch size.