Workshop CalcVarNL 2026

Workshop Calculus of Variations NL 2026

This workshop is the fifth event of the Dutch Calculus-of-Variations community with a focus on getting to know each other, exploring common interests, and connecting to neighbouring fields.

Along with our group of core members, anyone interested in the Dutch community around the calculus of variations and its applications is welcome to participate.

Location: Roermond (The Netherlands) 

Venue: https://boshuisblankwater.nl

Transport info: there is a bus (Arriva Buurtbus 794) from Roermond Wilhelminaplein to Bushalte Boven Boukoul at 09:39 (every hour). From there, it is a 20-minute walk to the location. 

Date: July 6-10, 2026

Masterclasses by

• Tim Laux (Universität Heidelberg)

Title: Weak solution concepts for mean curvature flow

Abstract: Mean curvature flow (MCF) is one of the most fundamental geometric evolution equations. It describes the relaxation of a surface due to surface tension, which can model various problems in physics and engineering. MCF can be viewed as a diffusion equation for surfaces, but unlike the linear diffusion equation, it generically develops singularities in finite time. Therefore, it is interesting to construct weak solutions that persist through these singularities. MCF has a formal gradient flow structure, so it is natural to use the calculus of variations to define weak solutions. However, due to the degeneracy of the underlying metric of the gradient flow structure, this is subtle and several approaches have been developed over the past 50 years. The aim of the lecture series is to give an overview of these solution concepts and discuss their relation to each other.

•  Annika Bach (Eindhoven University of Technology)

Contact

If you want to be informed about current and future events, you can be added to the mailing list by writing an email to calcvarnl@gmail.com