School of Mathematics

Avshalom Offner awarded Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship

Avshalom Offner has been awarded a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship entitled "Understanding the spread of respiratory droplets". This project aims to reliably describe the spread of respiratory droplets, which transmit viruses such as influenza or SARS-CoV-2, by developing a mathematical model for the three-dimensional dispersion of droplets, from which statistics of the droplets lifetime and spread can be estimated. The model accuracy will be maximised by calibrating and assessing the model with innovative experiments, utilising a positron imaging technique, a variation of the established PET medical imaging method, to visualise the flow of respiratory droplets. Results from this work will enhance our understanding of respiratory droplets dynamics, thus helping to reduce the risk of respiratory virus transmission.