Adjunct Professor
Petrus van Heijster
Faculty of Science,
School of Mathematical Sciences
Biography
BackgroundDr Petrus (Peter) van Heijster was a PhD student in applied mathematics at the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) under the supervision of Prof. Dr. A. Doelman. In 2009, he received his degree from the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. His thesis Front Interactions in a Three-Component System was awarded with the Stieltjes Prize for best PhD thesis in mathematics. Following graduation, Dr van Heijster was awarded a NWO Rubicon fellowship to conduct two years of postdoctoral research at Brown University in the USA under the supervision of Prof. B. Sandstede. He then worked as a postdoctoral associate at Boston University in the USA before commencing in august 2012 at QUT as a lecturer in the Applied and computational mathematics discipline.
In 2014, Dr van Heijster was recognised with a prestigious Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) fellowship, where he focused on research in the area of the analysis of defect driven pattern formation. In 2014, he was promoted to senior lecturer at QUT and he has been unit coordinator and lecturer for various undergraduate and postgraduate units. In 2016, he also received a Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice from QUT.
Research
Dr van Heijster is a applied analyst and his research focusses on nonlinear dynamics, and in particular on understanding pattern formation. The aim of his research is to get a better understanding of the pattern formation processes in paradigmatic mathematical models and to apply the new insights to more biologically-realistic models. He is particularly interested in the theoretical and mathematical underpinnings of the effects of heterogeneities on pattern formation processes.
Research interests
- pattern formation
- nonlinear dynamics
- singular perturbation techniques
- canard theory
- stability theory
- Evan’s functions
- renormalization group methods
- center manifold reductions
- travelling waves
- cell migration
Awards and recognition
Dr van Heijster has received two prestigious fellowships in his young career
- NWO Rubicon fellowship (60K)
- Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) fellowship (390K)
In addition, he received several smaller grants and awards
- Vice-chancellor’s Performance Award 2015, QUT (6K)
- SEF Award for Excellence in Postgraduate Research Supervision (School of Mathematical Sciences winner), QUT (0.3K)
- ECARD/VCRF Travel Fellowship, QUT (7K)
- QUT Early Career Academic Recruitment and Development Grant, QUT (15K)
- Stieltjes prize for the best PhD thesis (1.2K)
Citations
According to Google Scholar Dr van Heijster has 190 citations with an h-index of 7 and an i10-index of 6. For more information, see also Dr van Heijster's personal website.
Personal details
Positions
- Adjunct Professor
Faculty of Science,
School of Mathematical Sciences
Keywords
reaction-diffusion equations, singularly perturbed techniques, stability analyses, nonlinear pattern formation, defect systems, travelling waves, interaction of localised structures
Discipline
Applied Mathematics, Pure Mathematics, Numerical and Computational Mathematics
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008
Qualifications
- Dr (University of Amsterdam)
Professional memberships and associations
Professional Memberships
- SIAM (Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics)
- SIAM activity group: Dynamical Systems (Advisory Board 1/1/16 - present)
- SIAM activity group: Nonlinear Waves and Coherent Structures
- AustMS (Australian Mathematical Society)
- AustMS division: ANZIAM (Australia and New Zealand Industrial and Applied Mathematics)
Teaching
Dr van Heijster has taught undergraduate and postgraduate units at Brown University (USA), Boston university (USA) and QUT. After completing his ARC DECRA fellowship in 2017, Dr van Heijster re-commenced teaching QUT’s applied mathematics units:
Teaching awards and achievements
Supervisions
Dr van Heijster has supervised 2 PhD students to completion and 1 honours student. Currently, he is supervising 4 PhD students.
- 2017: Semester 2: Honours module on Singular Perturbation Methods
- 2017: Semester 2: MXB106: Linear algebra and Differential Equations (Lecturer (50 %) & Unit Coordinator)
- 2017: Semester 1: MXB102: Abstract Mathematical Reasoning (Lecturer & Unit coordinator)
- 2014: Semester 2: MAB/MAN413: Differential Equations (Unit Coordinator only)
- 2013: Semester 2: MAB/MAN413: Differential Equations (Lecturer & Unit Coordinator)
- 2013: Semester 1: MAB121: Single Variable Calculus and Differential Equations (Lecturer)
- 2012: Semester 2: MAB/MAN413: Differential Equations (Lecturer & Unit Coordinator)
Teaching awards and achievements
- 2017: Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice, QUT.
- 2014: QUT School of Mathematical Sciences awardee of the Science and Engineering Faculty Award for Excellence in Postgraduate Research Supervision.
Supervisions
Dr van Heijster has supervised 2 PhD students to completion and 1 honours student. Currently, he is supervising 4 PhD students.
Selected publications
- Davis P, van Heijster P, Marangell R, (2017) Absolute instabilities of travelling wave solutions in a Keller-Segel model, Nonlinearity, 30 (11), pp. 4029-4061.
- Doelman A, van Heijster P, Xie F, (2016) A geometric approach to stationary defect solutions in one space dimension, SIAM Journal on Applied Dynamical Systems, 15 (2), pp. 655-712.
- Sewalt L, Harley K, van Heijster P, Balasuriya S, (2016) Influences of Allee effects in the spreading of malignant tumours, Journal of Theoretical Biology, 394, pp. 77-92.
- van Heijster P, Chen C, Nishiura Y, Teramoto T, (2018) Localized patterns in a three-component Fitzhugh-Nagumo model revisited via an action functional, Journal of Dynamics and Differential Equations, 30 (2), pp. 521-555.
- Chirilus-Bruckner M, Doelman A, van Heijster P, Rademacher J, (2015) Butterfly catastrophe for fronts in a three-component reaction-diffusion system, Journal of Nonlinear Science, 25 (1), pp. 87-129.
- Harley K, van Heijster P, Marangell R, Pettet G, Wechselberger M, (2015) Numerical computation of an Evans function for travelling waves, Mathematical Biosciences, 266, pp. 36-51.
- van Heijster P, Hardway H, Kaper T, Bradham C, (2014) A computational model for BMP movement in sea urchin embryos, Journal of Theoretical Biology, 363, pp. 277-289.
- van Heijster P, Sandstede B, (2014) Bifurcations to travelling planar spots in a three-component FitzHugh-Nagumo system, Physica D: Nonlinear Phenomena, 275, pp. 19-34.
- Harley K, van Heijster P, Marangell R, Pettet G, Wechselberger M, (2014) Existence of travelling wave solutions for a model of tumor invasion, SIAM Journal on Applied Dynamical Systems, 13 (1), pp. 366-396.
- van Heijster P, Doelman A, Kaper T, Nishiura Y, Ueda K, (2011) Pinned fronts in heterogeneous media of jump type, Nonlinearity, 24 (1), pp. 127-157.
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Petrus, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Awards
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 2015
- Details
- QUT Vice-Chancellor's Performance Award for Excellence in Student Supervision
- Type
- Committee Role/Editor or Chair of an Academic Conference
- Reference year
- 2015
- Details
- Treasurer ANZIAM 2015 conference
- Type
- Keynote Speaker/Expert Panel Member/Invited Speaker for a Conference
- Reference year
- 2015
- Details
- Invited speaker at the international conference ICMMA 2015: Self-Organization Modeling and Analysis, Tokyo, Japan
- Type
- Fellowships
- Reference year
- 2009
- Details
- Rubicon fellowship to conduct two years of postdoctoral research at a top institute abroad.Awarded: 45.000 Euro.
Research projects
- Title
- Analysis of defect driven pattern formation in mathematical models
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- DE140100741
- Start year
- 2014
- Keywords
- dynamical systems; pattern formation; applied differential equations