Title: Basic reproduction number and principal eigenvalue

Abstract: Basic reproduction number is a dimensionless constant which is used in epidemiology to determine if an emerging infectious disease can spread. Principal eigenvalue, a key concept in spectral theory, is used to reflect certain properties of matrices or differential operators. In this talk we will discuss some recent progress on principal eigenvalues for second-order linear elliptic and time-period parabolic operators, with applications to basic reproduction numbers for some susceptible-infected-susceptible PDE models.

Bio: Dr. Yuan Lou studied in Peking University from 1984 to 1991 and he was a PhD student at University of Minnesota from 1991 to 1995. He did his post-doctoral research at MSRI (1995-96) and University of Chicago (1996-98), and he has been a faculty member at Ohio State University since 1998. His research interest includes the theory of reaction diffusion equations and its applications in biology. He has published more than 110 papers. He is currently the editor-in-chief of Discrete and Continuous Dynamical Systems, Series B, and he also serves in the Editorial Boards of Journal of Differential Equations, Journal of Math Biology, SIAM J. Applied Math. He served as an Associate Director of Mathematical Biosciences Institute (2009-2013).