Contact
Biography
Dr da Silva was born in Recife, Brazil, where he also studied mathematics at the Federal University of Pernambuco (DSc in Mathematics, 2017). After five years as a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel (Oct/2018-Oct/2023), Dr da Silva joined the University of Dundee as a Lecturer in Mathematics in December of 2023.
Research
Dr Luiz da Silva does research in Differential Geometry and uses it to understand the physical world around us. He has research experience in submanifold theory in Riemannian and non-Riemannian geometries with a special emphasis on manifolds of constant curvature or equipped with degenerate metrics. In the applications to Soft Matter Physics, he has contributed to the characterization of geometric frustration in three-dimensional liquid crystals and the geometry of biological membranes containing many interacting helical motifs.
Selected publications include:
L. C. B. da Silva and R. López: Catenaries in Riemannian surfaces. São Paulo Journal of Mathematical Sciences 18 (2024) 389-406.
E. V. S. Anjos, A. C. Pavão, L. C. B. da Silva, and C. C. Bastos: Quantum mechanics of particles constrained to spiral curves with applications to polyene chains. Journal of Molecular Modeling 30 (2024) 237.
L. C. B. da Silva, T. Bar, and E. Efrati: Compatible director fields in R^3. Journal of Elasticity 153 (2023) 755-786.
L. C. B. da Silva and E. Efrati: Moving frames and compatibility conditions for three-dimensional director fields. New Journal of Physics 23 (2021) 063016.
L. C. B. da Silva and E. Efrati: Construction of exact minimal parking garages: nonlinear helical motifs in optimally packed lamellar structures. Proceedings of the Royal Society A – Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 477 (2021) 20200891.
L. C. B. da Silva and J. D. da Silva: Characterization of manifolds of constant curvature by spherical curves. Annali di Matematica Pura ed Applicata 199 (2020) 217.
Teaching
Dr da Silva spends half of the academic year teaching at the Dundee International Institute of Central South University (Changsha, Hunan province). He is currently teaching
- Project Mathematics: Teaching first year students how to work collaboratively on a project requiring mathematical skills. The project includes writing a report.
- Calculus for Science and Engineering (as module leader): Teaching the usual contents of differential and integral calculus to first year students.