Second edition of Life in Equations: modelling to understand forests, cities, and lungs

Following the success of the first edition of the Life in Equations series, IQS is once again committed to promoting mathematical modelling applied to real-world challenges with Life in Equations: From Planet to Particle. The initiative, which in its first instalment gave a platform to leading researchers in biological systems modelling across different scales, continues to advance its mission of highlighting how mathematics can address key societal challenges.

This year, the series brings together three experts tackling phenomena as diverse as Mediterranean forest dynamics, urban climate, and human respiratory function.

The second edition kicked off on 25 March with the session Modelling water balance, carbon balance, and vegetation dynamics in Mediterranean forest ecosystems, delivered by Miquel de Cáceres, a Ramón y Cajal researcher at the Centre Tecnològic Forestal de Catalunya (CTFC) and CSIC (CREAF), and a specialist in applied statistics and plant community modelling.

The expert offered a detailed look at how Mediterranean forests face a severe water deficit every summer that constrains their growth and heightens their vulnerability to droughts and wildfires. De Cáceres explained how models based on biophysical and ecological processes make it possible to reconstruct ecosystem functioning and forecast its evolution under future climate scenarios. He presented practical examples ranging from wildfire risk assessment to the valuation of ecosystem services, and highlighted the challenges that remain in refining these forest management tools.

The second talk in the series will take place on 20 April and will be delivered by Jordi Mazón, Doctor of Science (computational and applied physics), lecturer in the Department of Physics at UPC, and an expert in atmospheric physics and urban climatology. He will offer a scientific perspective on the climatic and environmental functioning of cities.

His talk will explore how certain physical variables — such as aridity, raindrop size, and gas distribution — influence the everyday experience of city dwellers. Mazón will present mathematical models that explain unexpected relationships, such as the link between environmental dryness and the perception of cleanliness. He will also introduce the Quality Urban Label (QUL), a system that quantifies the quality of public space by integrating multiple urban indicators.

The series will close on 12 May with a talk by Beatriz Eguzkitza, a postdoctoral researcher at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) and specialist in computational fluid mechanics applied to the respiratory system. She will present how high-performance simulations allow us to explore the internal mechanics of the human respiratory system.

The researcher will explain how solving complex fluid dynamics equations in real anatomical geometries yields valuable insights into pulmonary function, with direct applications in drug deposition, inhaler design, and understanding mucus behaviour in paediatric airways. Her work is advancing towards the development of a “virtual lung” capable of supporting personalised medicine.

The Life in Equations series grew out of IQS’s mathsimo research seminar on simulation and mathematical modelling — a meeting point where faculty share experiences and build new lines of collaboration on projects, undergraduate and master’s dissertations, and funding proposals.

Through these talks, IQS opens a window onto the work being done in this field, showcasing advances that span from the planetary to the microscopic scale. The series offers a first-hand look at how mathematical and computational modelling helps us understand biological processes ranging from molecular interactions to cellular, tissue, organism, and population dynamics. It is a space that strengthens scientific cooperation and raises the profile of the research carried out at the centre.