Ph.D in Mathematics, September 1998, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University
Thesis: Simulations of the Flow Past an Array of Circular Cylinders as a Test of the Immersed Boundary Method.
Thesis Advisor: Charles S. Peskin
M.S in Applied Math., NTHU, Taiwan
B.S in Applied Math., NCHU, Taiwan

Numerical methods for PDEs
Computational fluid mechanics

2011/06-- Distinguished Professor, National Chiao Tung University
2013/01-- 2013/05 Visiting Professor, Hong Kong Baptist University
2012/09-- 2012/12 Visiting Professor, Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences (RIMS), Kyoto University
2009/08-- 2012/07 Founding Director, Center of Mathematical Modeling and Scientific Computing (CMMSC), National Chiao Tung University
2007/08-- 2009/07 Chair, Department of Applied Mathematics, National Chiao Tung University
2005/08-- Professor, Department of Applied Mathematics, National Chiao Tung University
2002/08-- 2005/07, Associate Professor, Department of Applied Mathematics, National Chiao Tung University
1999/08-- 2002/07, Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics, National Chung Cheng University
1998/08-- 1999/07, Research Associate, Duke University

National Science Council, Outstanding Research Award, 2011
Taiwan Mathematical Society, Academic Award, 2011
National Science Council, Outstanding Scholar Research Grant, 2009/08-2012/07
National Chiao Tung University, Academic Research Award, 2005
National Science Council, Outstanding Research Award, 2003
Dean's Special Recognition Award, 2003
Kurt O. Friedrichs Prize for an outstanding dissertation in Mathematics, 1999

SIAM East Asia Section (EASIAM), President, 2013-2014
National Science Council, Mathematics Division, Grant panel chair 2012-
SIAM East Asia Section (EASIAM), Vice President, 2011-2012
National Science Council, Mathematics Division , Grant panel 2009-2011
National Center for Theoretical Sciences (NCTS), Program committee 2005-, Executive Committee 2012-

Journal of Biological Systems, 2013 -
Communications in Computational Physics, 2012 -
International Journal of Numerical Analysis and Modeling- Series B, 2011 -
East Asian Journal of Applied Mathematics, 2010 -
Advances in Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, 2009 -

• Annual Meeting of Taiwan Mathematical Society (plenary speaker), NCTU, December 7-9, 2012
• Kinetic Theory and Related Fields: Theoretical and Numerical Approaches (invited speaker), Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan, September 24-28, 2012
• Biological Complex Fluids, 2012 Cargese summer school (invited lecturer), Corsica Island, France, June 25th-July 7th, 2012.
• Workshop on Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations: Analysis, Computation and Applications (invited speaker), IMS Singapore, March 7 - 10, 2012
• The 4th Intl. Conference on Scientific Computing and Partial Differential Equations (invited speaker), Hong Kong Baptist University, December 5-9, 2011.
• 2011 International Conference on Applied Mathematics and Interdisciplinary Research (invited speaker), Chern Institute of Mathematics, Nankai University, Tianjin, June 13-15, 2011
• International Congress of Chinese Mathematicians ICCM2010 (invited speaker, 45 mins talk), Beijing, Dec 17-22, 2010
• Workshop on Fluid Motion Driven by Immersed Structures (tutorial speaker on the immersed boundary method, one hour talk), Fields Institute, Canada, August 9-13, 2010
• Fluid dynamics, Analysis and Numerics (invited speaker, 40 mins talk), Duke University, USA, June 28-30, 2010
• Applied Mathematics International Conference 2010 and The 6th East Asia SIAM Conference (invited speaker, 40 mins talk), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, June 22-24, 2010
• International Conference on Applied Mathematics (invited speaker, 30 mins talk), City U. of Hong Kong, June 7-11, 2010
• IAS Seminar Series on Soft Matter (SMSS'09, invited speaker, one hour talk), Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, May 25-26, 2009
• ECM2009 invited workshop, The Interface Problem and Its Applications (invited speaker, 30 mins talk), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University May 27-29, 2009
• Meiji University Global COE Program, Kick-off Forum (Guest speaker), Japan, March 2-8, 2009
• The 3rd International Conference on Scientific Computing and Partial Differential Equations (plenary speaker, 45 mins talk), Hong Kong Baptist University, December 8-13, 2008
• Analytical & Computational Fluid Dynamics (plenary speaker, two 50 mins talks), Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea, June 24-25, 2008
• The Fifth Conference on Frontiers in Applied and Computational Mathematics (invited speaker, 30 mins talk), New Jersey Institute of Technology, USA, May 19-21, 2008
• The 6th International Congress on Industrial and Applied Mathematics (ICIAM07), mini-symposium- Interface Methods and Applications in Multi-phase problems (invited speaker, 30 mins talk), ETH Zurich, Switzerland, 2007/07
• Workshop on Moving Interface Problems and Applications in Fluid Dynamics (invited speaker, 50 mins talk), Institute for Mathematical Sciences, short term visiting member, NUS, Singapore, 2007/02
• Workshop of NIMS on Scientific Computation and Numerical Computation for Interdisciplinary Mission (invited speaker, 50 mins talk), Daejon and Seoul, Korea, 2006/08

Publications

(A) Refereed Papers:

1. M.-C. Lai and C. S. Peskin, An immersed boundary method with formal second-order accuracy and reduced numerical viscosity, Journal of Computational Physics, 160, 705-719 (2000).
2. M.-C. Lai and Z. Li, A remark on jump conditions for the three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations involving an immersed moving membrane , Applied Mathematics Letters 14, vol 2 , 149-154, (2001).
3. J. T. Beale and M.-C. Lai, A method for computing nearly singular integrals , SIAM J. on Numerical Analysis, vol 38, No 6, 1902-1925, (2001).
4. M.-C. Lai, A note on finite difference discretizations for Poisson equation on a disk , Numerical Methods for Partial Differential Equations, vol 17, issue 3, 199-203, (2001).
5. Z. Li and M.-C. Lai, The immersed interface method for the Navier-Stokes equations with singular forces , Journal of Computational Physics, vol 171, No 2, 822-842, (2001).
6. M.-C. Lai and W.-C. Wang, Fast direct solvers for Poisson equation on 2D polar and spherical geometries , Numerical Methods for Partial Differential Equations vol 18, 56-68, (2002).
7. M.-C. Lai, W.-W. Lin and W. Wang, A fast spectral/difference method without pole conditions for Poisson-type equations in cylindrical and spherical geometries , IMA J. of Numerical Analysis, vol 22, No 4, 537-548, (2002).
8. M.-C. Lai, A simple compact fourth-order Poisson solver on polar geometry , Journal of Computational Physics, vol 182, 337-345, (2002).
9. M.-C. Lai, Fast Poisson solver in a three-dimensional ellipsoid , Contemporary Mathematics , AMS, vol 329, 203-208, (2003).
10. Z. Li, W.-C. Wang, I.-L. Chern and M.-C. Lai, New formulations for interface problems in polar coordinates, SIAM J. on Scientific Computing, vol 25, No 1, 224-245, (2003).
11. K.-H. Chiam, M.-C. Lai and H. S. Greenside, Efficient algorithm on a nonstaggered mesh for simulating Rayleigh-Benard convection in a box , Physical Review E , 68, 026705, (2003).
12. M.-C. Lai, Fourth-order finite difference scheme for the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in a disk , International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids , vol. 42, 909-922, (2003).
13. M.-C. Lai, Fast direct solver for Poisson equation in a 2D elliptical domain, Numerical Methods for Partial Differential Equations , vol 20, 72-81, (2004).
14. M.-C. Lai, C.-Y. Huang and T.-S. Lin, A simple Dufort-Frankel type scheme for the Gross-Pitaevskii equation of Bose-Einstein condensates on different geometries , Numerical Methods for Partial Differential Equations , vol 20, No 4, 624-638, (2004).
15. M.-C. Lai and Y.-H. Tseng, A fast iterative solver for the variable coefficient diffusion equation on a disk , Journal of Computational Physics, vol 208, 196-205, (2005).
16. M.-C. Lai and H.-C. Liu, Fast direct solver for the biharmonic equation on a disk and its application to incompressible flows, Applied Mathematics and Computation, vol 164, 679-695, (2005).
17. M.-C. Lai, Z. Li and X. Lin, Fast solvers for 3D Poisson equations involving interfaces in a finite or the infinite domain, Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics , vol 191, 106-125, (2006).
18. J. Huang, M.-C. Lai and Y. Xiang, An integral equation method for epitaxial step flow growth simulations , Journal of Computational Physics, vol 216, 724-743, (2006).
19. S.-W. Su, M.-C. Lai and C.-A. Lin, An immersed boundary technique for simulating complex flows with rigid boundary, Computers and Fluids , vol 36, 313-324, (2007).
20. Z. Li, K. Ito and M.-C. Lai, An augmented approach for Stokes equations with discontinuous viscosity and singular forces , Computers and Fluids , vol 36, 622-635, (2007).
21. M.-C. Lai and J.-M Tseng, A formally fourth-order accurate compact scheme for 3D Poisson equation in cylindrical coordinates , Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics, vol 201, 175-181, (2007).
22. M.-C. Lai, C.-T. Wu and Y.-H. Tseng, An efficient semi-coarsening multigrid method for variable diffusion problems in cylindrical coordinates , Applied Numerical Mathematics, vol 57, 801-810, (2007).
23. M.-C Lai and H.-C. Tseng, A simple implementation of the immersed interface methods for Stokes flows with singular forces , Computers and Fluids , vol 37, 99-106, (2008).
24. M.-C. Lai, Y.-H. Tseng and H. Huang, An immersed boundary method for interfacial flows with insoluble surfactant, Journal of Computational Physics, Vol 227, 7279-7293, (2008).
25. H. Huang, M.-C. Lai and H.-C. Tseng, A parametric derivation of the surfactant transport equation along a deforming fluid interface, Frontiers of Applied and Computational Mathematics , ed. by D. Blackmore, A. Bose and P. Petropoulos, pp. 198--205, (2008).
26. K. Ito, M.-C. Lai and Z. Li A well-conditioned augmented system for solving Navier-Stokes equations in irregular domains, Journal of Computational Physics, Vol 228, 2616-2628 (2009).
27. M.-C. Lai, C.-W. Hsu and H. Huang, A front-tracking method for motion by mean curvature with surfactant, Advances in Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, Vol 1, No 2, 288-300 (2009).
28. Z. Li, M.-C. Lai, G. He and H. Zhao, An augmented method for free boundary problems with moving contact lines, Computers and Fluids , Vol 39, 1033-1040 (2010).
29. Y. Kim, M.-C. Lai and C. S. Peskin, Numerical simulations of two-dimensional foam by the immersed boundary method, Journal of Computational Physics, Vol 229, 5194-5207 (2010).
30. M.-C. Lai, Y.-H. Tseng and H. Huang, Numerical simulation of moving contact lines with surfactant by immersed boundary method , Communications in Computational Physics , Vol 8, 735-757 (2010).
31. Y. Kim and M.-C. Lai, Simulating the dynamics of inextensible vesicles by the penalty immersed boundary method , Journal of Computational Physics, Vol 229, 4840-4853 (2010).
32. C.-T. Wu, Z. Li and M.-C. Lai, Adaptive mesh refinement for elliptic interface problems using the non-conforming immersed finite element method , International Journal of Numerical Analysis and Modeling, Vol 8, No 3, 466-483 (2011).
33. M.-C. Lai, C.-Y. Huang and Y.-M. Huang, Simulating the axisymmetric interfacial flows with insoluble surfactant by immered boundary method , International Journal of Numerical Analysis and Modeling, Vol 8, No 1, 105-117, (2011).
34. Z. Li and M.-C. Lai, New finite difference methods based on IIM for inextensible interfaces in incompressible flows , East Asian Journal of Applied Mathematics, Vol 1, No 2, 155-171 (2011).
35. K.-Y. Chen, K.-A. Feng, Y. Kim and M.-C. Lai, A note on pressure accuracy in immersed boundary method for Stokes flow, Journal of Computational Physics, Vol 230, 4377-4383 (2011).
36. P. Constantin, M.-C. Lai, R. Sharma, Y.-H. Tseng and J. Wu, New Numerical Results for the Surface Quasi-Geostrophic Equation, Journal of Scientific Computing, Vol 50, Issue 1, 1-28 (2012).
37. Y. Kim, Y. Seol, M.-C. Lai and C. S. Peskin, The immersed boundary method for two-dimensional foam with topological changes, Communications in Computational Physics , Vol 12, No 2, 479-493 (2012).
38. C.-H. Teng, I.-L. Chern and M.-C. Lai, Simulating binary fluid-surfactant dynamics by a phase field model, Discrete and Continuous Dynamical Systems - Series B , Vol 17, No 4, 1289-1307 (2012).
39. M.-C. Lai, W.-F. Hu, and W.-W. Lin, A fractional step immersed boundary method for Stokes flow with an inextensible interface enclosing a solid particle, SIAM Journal of Scientific Computing , Vol 34, No 5, pp.B692-B710 (2012).
40. Y. Kim and M.-C. Lai, Numerical study for viscosity and inertial effects on vesicle tank-treading to tumbling motion under shear flow, Physical Review E 86, 066321 (2012).
41. K.-Y. Chen and M.-C. Lai, A conservative scheme for solving coupled surface-bulk convection-diffusion equations with an application to interfacial flows with soluble surfactant, submitted for publication.
42. J.-J. Xu, Y. Huang, M.-C. Lai and Z. Li, A coupled immersed interface and level set method for three-dimensional interfacial flows with insoluble surfactant, Communications in Computational Physics , accepted.
43. W.-F. Hu, Y. Kim, M.-C. Lai, An immersed boundary method for simulating the dynamics of three-dimensional axisymmetric vesicles in Navier-Stokes flows, submitted for publication.

(B) Conference Papers:

1. M.-C. Lai, Jump conditions for the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations involving an immersed moving elastic boundary, Proceedings of Third Sino-Philippine Symposium in Analysis, Matimyas Matematika, 2000, special issue, 104-110.
2. M.-C. Lai, K.-H. Chiam, M. C. Cross, and H. S. Greenside, Simulating complex dynamics in intermediate and large-aspect-ratio convection systems, 18th symposium on Energy Engineering Sciences, Argonne National Laboratory, May 15-16, 2000.
3. M.-C. Lai, Two simple fast direct solvers without pole condition for Poisson equation on a disk, Proceedings of the 9th differential equations conference, National Cheng Kung University, 2001.
4. M.-C. Lai, A new implementation technique for solving Poisson problem in 2D infinite domain, Proceedings of the 13th differential equations conference , National Chung Cheng University, 2005.
5. M.-C. Lai, H.-C. Tseng, Z. Li, A simple immersed interface method for the Stokes flow with singular forces , Proceedings of the National Institute for Mathematical Sciences, NIMS workshop for Scientific Computation, Korea, 2006.

(C) Dissertation:

• M.-C. Lai, Simulations of the flow past an array of circular cylinders as a test of the immersed boundary method, Ph.D thesis, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, 1998/09. This work won 1999 Kurt O. Friedrichs Prize for an outstanding dissertation in Mathematics at Courant Institute.