The next appointment in the PhDTalks seminar series will take place on Tuesday, May 12th, 2026, in Grandori Room (Building 4), from 12:00 to 13:00 CET.
PhDTalks is a series of seminars and discussions among PhD candidates. The events aim to provide a space for networking among doctoral students and for engaging with the many projects developed within our department.
The speaker Kevin Raul Lucon Rivas will deliver a seminar entitled “Mathematics for the Eye: Towards Computational Evaluation of Angle-Closure Risk Factors Using an Active-Strain Iris Model”
At the end of the event, a light refreshment will be offered, sponsored by the department.
The seminar will also be accessible online at the following link.
Abstract
Angle-closure glaucoma, associated to iris expansion that obstructs aqueous drainage and raise intraocular pressure in the eye, is a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. We developed a disk-shaped FEM model of the iris, seen as active-strain fiber-reinforced material, inclusive of two competitor muscles, to demonstrate that the tissue architecture controls pupil diameter and iris bulging. The model captures well iris kinematics, yet the uniform iris thickness limits the modelling of fluid obstruction. We believe that an improved model with variable thickness, meridional curvature, and interaction with other tissues, will describe clinical biomarkers of angle-closure galucoma, addressing risk assessment.
Speaker’s Bio
I am a Mechanical Engineer graduated from ESPOL, Ecuador, with a Master’s in Mathematical Engineering from the Universidad de La Rioja, Spain, and a Master’s in Educational Innovation. Before pursuing a PhD, I worked in education a field I have always been passionate about. I am currently a PhD candidate (39th cycle) at Politecnico di Milano, under the supervision of Prof. Anna Pandolfi and Prof. Luca Dedè. Originally from Ecuador, I came to research through a genuine fascination with the mathematics that underlies the physical world and a conviction that rigorous models can have real clinical impact. Outside of research, I love music , especially Latin singer-songwriters , dancing, reading, travelling, and long conversations about philosophy and consciousness. I believe that the best ideas live at the intersection of disciplines, and I try to carry that spirit into everything I do.