Hussein Rappel uses a mathematical learning approach to try to predict and simulate physical phenomena. The Iranian national came to Luxembourg in 2014 to join the team of Prof Stephane Bordas at the University of Luxembourg, where he is now in the 3rd year of his PhD in Computational Science – and sees great potential in Luxembourg as a research destination.
Hussein Rappel has a thirst for learning new things, and in research has found the ideal job for a curious, knowledge-hungry computer scientist. Since 2014, Hussein has been working with Prof Stephane Bordas, a renowned computational science researcher at the University of Luxembourg. ‘Computational science’ is a broad term nowadays, so what exactly does Hussein do for his PhD work?
Simulating physical phenomena
“We try to simulate physical phenomena (e.g. fracture, deformation and etc.), using mathematics and computer programming.
“In my research I am trying to use a mathematical learning approach called ‘Bayesian inference’ to identify the parameters for the material behaviour laws. The approach is very similar to what we do in our regular life to learn about an event and predict the next step. As an example you can imagine yourself driving your car, for any action that you are going to take for the next step you combine the current state information (the car speed, its position etc.) with the information from your surroundings ( such as the other cars, road situation…) and then you make your decision.
“This is almost what I do in my research by combing the measurements, the information that I already have and my physical model I identify the parameters for governing physical laws.”
In terms of what this looks like on in practice, Hussein explains that apart from reading up on the latest findings in his field and developing the mathematical models and codes needed for the simulation, discussing his findings and progress with his supervisors Dr Lars Beex and Prof. Stephane Bordas is a significant part of his regular activities.
Learning how to do original research in an up-and-coming research location
Being just over halfway through his PhD and thus still at the beginning of his research career, Hussein’s main goal as a researcher at the moment is mainly to learn how to do original research independently and publish the associated results – he adds: “Furthermore I would like to improve my skills by learning to write research proposals which would let me to convert my ideas from a simple idea to a research project.”
Hussein relocated from Iran to Luxembourg for his PhD, which he explains was more due to the chance to work PhD supervisor Stephane Bordas, (who himself came to Luxembourg a few years ago with his then newly-awarded ERC grant), than due to Luxembourg itself. As Hussein points out, however, the University of Luxembourg is slowly but surely building a reputation for itself:
“Considering the condition in Luxembourg and available resources I believe the country is going in the right direction and has great potential to become a very popular destination for researchers from various countries in the world.
“The University of Luxembourg is quite young but it gets recognised every year more than the previous year as it is a research-oriented university. Furthermore the possibility of creating various research centres in the university framework can help it to get even more research-oriented and as result more recognised.
“As an example you can consider creation of the Centre of Excellence in Scientific Computing which can help to do lots of interdisciplinary projects. These research projects can be in fields of finance, engineering, physics and so on.”
About Spotlight on Young Researchers
Spotlight on Young Researchers is an FNR initiative to highlight early career researchers across the world who have a connection to Luxembourg. This article is the 21st in a series of around 25 articles, which will be published on a weekly basis. You can see more articles below as and when they are published.
Spotlight on Young Researchers: Michel Thill
For his part-time AFR PhD in Political Science with Ghent University’s Conflict Research Group, Michel Thill researches a little-studied subject: everyday policing practices and interactions between police and people in Bukavu, a provincial capital in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo. We spoke to the Luxembourg national about insatiable curiosity being a virtue for researchers; the experiences gained during his PhD; and why his research subject is important.
Spotlight on Young Researchers: Antonio Ancora
In the current situation of legal uncertainty, PhD candidate Antonio Ancora’s research at the University of Luxembourg aims to improve tax certainty in the context of state aid investigation on Transfer Pricing transactions among multinational enterprises.
Spotlight on Young Researchers: Kacy Greenhalgh
Kacy Greenhalgh has always had an affectation for medicine and health, and how health can be influenced by dietary habits. During her Master studies, the Luxembourg-American national was introduced to FNR ATTRACT Fellow Paul Wilmes and the ‘gut on a chip’, HuMiX. Fascinated by its potential, and how it could be used to study the relation between diet and health, Kacy’s curiosity led her straight to an AFR PhD at the LCSB at the University of Luxembourg.
Spotlight on Young Researchers: Xianqing Mao
Xianqing Mao comes from a family of professors and doctors and thus has always had a natural interest in science. The Chinese national completed a medical degree, but felt she still had unanswered questions, so she decided to go abroad and took a leap into biomedical research. After stays in France, the UK, the United States and Belgium, Xianqing is now transitioning from junior to senior researcher at the Luxembourg Institute of Health, where she has already been involved in several projects investigating cancer progression.
Spotlight on Young Researchers: Michel Summer
For his AFR PhD at Trinity College Dublin, historian Michel Summer is re-assessing the political activity of medieval Anglo-Saxon missionary Willibrord, who in addition to being a landowner, scholar and ambassador, founded a monastery in Luxembourg. We spoke to the Luxembourg national about how history promotes critical thinking, and why he believes historians are needed more than ever.
Spotlight on Young Researchers: Nature does it best
What is the connection between the gut of a termite and renewable energy? What binds them is anaerobic digestion, the process by which microorganisms break down biodegradable material without oxygen. We speak to four young researchers in the Biosystems and Bioprocessing Engineering group at the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) about how understanding the termite gut could help unlock the full potential of anaerobic digestion, and the associated benefits for green and cleantech.