Prof. Michela Ottobre

Professor of Mathematics

Heriot Watt University
Mathematics Department
Colin Maclaurin Building, Room T14
Edinburgh, EH14 4AS

  Email m.ottobre@hw.ac.uk
Office number +44 (0)131 451 3232

 

• Research interests: My background is in stochastic analysis, i.e. in the modelling, analysis and simulation of random phenomena. In this field the focus of my research is on multiscale models, interacting particle systems and uncertainty quantification.
  In the last couple of years I have developed a keen interest in mathematical modelling for Ecosystem Restoration, and so my research at the moment is partly devoted to stochastic analysis and partly to modelling for Ecosystem Restoration. In the latter field, I am focussing on landscape modelling and I am keen for models to be accompanied by user-friendly visualization tools.
  I have published on the following topics:
  
  
  • Collective dynamics, self- organization and models for animal migration
  • Multiscale methods for stochastic dynamics (modelled by stochastic differential equations)
  • Markov chain monte Carlo methods
  • Analysis and numerical methods for Stochastic Differential Equations, parabolic Partial Differential Equations (Fokker-Planck, Kolmogorov) and Stochastic Partial differential Equations
  • Anomalous diffusion and random environments
  • Interacting Particle Systems, McKean-Vlasov (Stochastic) Partial Differential Equations
  • Collective navigation and Rewilding
  
  I am very devoted to the greyhound cause - I will soon add some info here on greyhounds.



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• Publications (partially updated 05/2024)


• Some Invited Talks


• Education and Previous Positions



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• Editorial Board of Foundations of Data Science


• Editorial Board of SIAM Review


• Co-organiser of the One World dynamics seminar


• Member of the European Mathematical Society, as part of the Meetings Committee, which `deals with proposals for EMS Scientific Meetings, EMS Lecturers, EMS Distinguished Speakers, EMS Summer Schools, Special Events, and Activities endorsed by the EMS.'


• Member of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society



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• AWARDS


• Chapman Fellowship, Imperial College (2013)


• Whittaker Prize of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society (2019)


• Leverhulme Research Project Grant - 2020-2023, ~200k


• EPSRC Small Grant - 2023, ~30k


• Royal Society of Edinburgh Personal Research Fellowship - 2024-2025, ~50k


• EPSRC Standard Grant `On multiscale Methods', 2025-2028, ~550k.



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• Available PhD projects. I am looking for two Phd student to work within my group. One in the field of applied stochastic analysis, the other for a project in Mathematical Ecology. More information on these projects can be found at this link. Apply ideally by 12 January 2026.
  
  
  

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• PhD students and Postdocs, past and present
  
  
  • Paul Dobson (PhD in 2019, currently Assistant Professor at Heriot Watt and the Maxwell Institute.)
  • Christina Lazaridou (Phd in 2021)
  • Thomas Hodgson, PhD April 2019 - December 2023, currently working in ecological modelling at Credit Nature
  • Iain Souttar, PhD April 2020 - March 2024, currently PDRA at Warwick
  • Martin Kolodziejczyk, PhD September 2021 - September 2024, currently PDRA at Politecnico di Milano.
  • Letizia Angeli, Postdoc November 2020 - July 2023
  • Daniel Adams - Maxwell Institute Fellow, 2023
  • Isaac Armstrong, current PhD student, working on Mathematical Ecology project
  • Ashot Aleksian, current PDRA, working on multiscale methods for SDEs
  
  

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• WORKSHOP and CONFERENCE ORGANIZATION
  
  In reverse chronological order:
  
  
  • Knowledge Exchange event on Mathematics for Rewilding Edinburgh, ICMS, 20-23 October 2025
  
  
  • 11th International Conference on stochastic Analysis and its Applications. Edinburgh, ICMS, 26-30 June 2023
  
  
  • Connections between Interacting Particles Dynamics and Data Science Isle of Skye, 22nd-27th of May 2022
  
  
  • 6th Scottish PDE Colloquium Edinburgh, 31st May-1st June 2018
  
  
  • Workshop on BSDEs and SPDEs. Edinburgh, 3rd-7th July 2017
  
  
  • MCMC and Particle methods: Sampling, Inference and Stochastic Approximation. ICMS, Edinburgh, 5th- 8th September 2016
    
    
    • Workshop webpage
    • Programme
  
  
  • Challenges in Statistical Mechanics: from Mathematics to Molecular Dynamics to Technological Applications. Imperial College London, December 2015
  
  
  
  

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• Teaching:

1.     Advanced PhD course: Markov chain Monte Carlo Methods Winter 2017

1.     Mathematics workshop, Second Year Mathematics Winter 2017

1.     Advanced PhD course: Theory of Diffusion Processes Autumn 2015, Winter 2018, Autumn 2018

2.     Introductory Mathematics for Economics Autumn 2015

3.     Applied Stochastic Processes Autumn 2013

4.     Functional Analysis Autumn 2012

5.     Civil Engineering II Autumn 2011

6.     LaTeX spring 2012 and 2014

Since the mathematicians have invaded the theory of relativity,
I do not understand it myself anymore.
—Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

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