MEMS Special Seminar: Pierre Jolivet, ” From Models to Solvers: PDEs with FreeFEM and PETSc.”

Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science welcomes Dr. Pierre Jolivet (Sorbonne) to present a MEMS Special Seminar, “From Models to Solvers: PDEs with FreeFEM and PETSc.”
ABSTRACT: The numerical solution of partial differential equations (PDEs) at scale requires both flexible discretization tools and robust, high-performance linear and nonlinear solvers. In this presentation, I will explain the coupling of the finite element framework FreeFEM with the PETSc library to enable the efficient and scalable solution of large-scale PDE problems arising in scientific computing.
In particular, I will focus on the design and implementation of advanced solution strategies, including domain decomposition methods and tailored preconditioning techniques, within this coupled environment. By leveraging PETSc composable solver infrastructure and FreeFEM expressive formulation capabilities, users may develop workflows that bridge high-level problem specification with low-level performance optimization.
I will showcase a series of numerical experiments highlighting the scalability and robustness of the proposed approaches on distributed-memory architectures. Particular attention is given to the impact of preconditioning strategies on convergence and parallel efficiency for challenging elliptic and multiphysics problems.
PIERRE JOLIVET is a CNRS senior scientist hosted by Sorbonne Université, LIP6, Paris, France. He earned his PhD in Applied Mathematics from Université de Grenoble in 2014. His research focuses on high-performance computing and scalable numerical methods for large-scale scientific simulations, with particular expertise in domain decomposition and preconditioning techniques. He is a core contributor to computational toolkits such as PETSc and FreeFEM, and collaborates closely with industry partners worldwide.
Host: Christopher Douglas