Sean Bohun

Sean Bohun

Project Leader

Research interests: Specializes in mathematical modelling and breaking down the barriers between the mathematical sciences and other disciplines, fields and industries. His research continually places him in contact with real-life problems from both industry and greater society.

C. Sean Bohun is an Associate Professor at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. Active in the field of industrial and applied mathematics, he has been an invited participant of Study Groups around the globe for nearly 15 years. Dr. Bohun specializes in mathematical modelling and has coauthored a text on the subject. He has been a mentor for graduate training workshops since 2004 in Canada, the US and Oxford and has been one of the main organizers of the Canadian Study Groups for many years. His research continually places him in contact with real-life problems from both industry and greater society. This process continues to breakdown barriers between the mathematical sciences and other disciplines, fields and industries. For these efforts Professor Bohun was the recipient of the 2015 CAIMS-Fields Industrial Mathematics Prize.

Sean’s research is driven by industrial concerns and occurs at the interface of mathematics and some collection of physical and/or chemical processes. As a result of this, it is highly cross-disciplinary and on the surface, somewhat eclectic in nature. Below is a brief summary of some of his research in progress. It is by no means exhaustive.

•tissue engineering with the optimal placement of cells using magnetic micro-beads;
•development of laser ablation and laser polishing models;
•determining molecular structure using a Pixel Imaging Mass Spectrometer;
•the onset of plasticity in crystal growth;

Alongside of these initiatives, Dr. Bohun is interested in the application of many of the techniques in applied mathematics to social and political situations. This interest has grown from initial questions concerning voting choice and strategic voting to modelling the mechanisms that drive social change. Much of this work depends on being able to penetrate the sociological/religious/political literature and this continues to be a challenge but will ultimately continue to lower the barriers between applied mathematics and the humanities.