My research interests are in the multi-scale asymptotic analysis of materials and media. The main objective of such analysis is to replace the complex medium in question by its "effective" counterpart possessing the physical properties of the original problem that are deemed important in a given application. I use a range of tools from the asymptotic analysis of partial differential equations and integral functionals, which are often linked to the kind of convergence ("topology") that preserves the energy stored in a medium for any data from a given function class. An example of a recent evolution of such asymptotic tools is provided by the analysis of the overall ("averaged", "homogenised") behaviour periodic composite media, where the increased contrast between component media leads to a loss of compactness of solutions (more generally, of bounded-energy sequences) in the classical Sobolev spaces.

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It has recently become evident that in some cases there is no "natural" candidate for the effective medium, and one might think of the asymptotic approximation itself as the effective "model". I am currently engaged with the development of this idea as the mathematical equivalent of what physicists refer to as a "metamaterial". Here, each of the physical contexts (acoustics, electromagnetism, elasticity) requires new asymptotic techniques in the corresponding area of analysis (operator theory, calculus of variations). I am motivated by the fascinating interplay between physical objects and mathematical concepts that becomes evident as a result of the development of such techniques.