Lara Silvers

Dr. Lara Silvers is a Lecturer in Mathematics at the School of Science & Technology, City, University of London. She focuses on Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics, particularly the interactions between plasmas and magnetic fields in astrophysical objects such as the Sun. Her work often involves computational techniques on high-performance computing facilities to solve governing equations of astrophysical systems.

• Senior Fellow, Higher Education Academy (2019–present)
• Fellow, The Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (Jul 2018–present)
• Member, London Mathematics Society (2010–present)
• Fellow, Royal Astronomical Society (2004–present)

Dr. Silvers has served in various educational leadership roles at City, including Associate Dean for multiple responsibilities within the School of Science & Technology. She is currently the Deputy Director of the STEM Digital Academy, where she develops innovative educational programs. Her teaching includes modules like Introduction to the Mathematics of Fluids, Vector Calculus, and Programming and Computational Mathematics.

Her research primarily concerns astrophysical fluid dynamics, with a specific focus on the impact of temperature-dependent transport coefficients in modeling the solar interior. She uses both analytic and numeric techniques to study solar convection, magnetic buoyancy, and shear flow instabilities. Her work has contributed to understanding the solar tachocline, a region with strong shear in the solar interior.

Dr. Silvers has supervised several research students, including Abrar Ali, Karan Pattni, and Veronika Witzke, whose theses explored topics such as Solar Convection, Magnetic Buoyancy, and Structured Populations in Evolutionary Dynamics.

• On the Interaction of Buoyant Magnetic Structures with Convective Plumes (2022)
• The effect of temperature-dependent viscosity and thermal conductivity on the onset of compressible convection (2020)
• Mean flow evolution of saturated forced shear flows in polytropic atmospheres (2019)
• Evolution and characteristics of forced shear flows in polytropic atmospheres: Large and small Péclet number regimes (2019)
• The effect of time-dependent γ-pumping on buoyant magnetic structures (2018)

Her research frequently involves collaboration with other academics and institutions, with publications in prestigious journals like the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society and Physics of Fluids. Dr. Silvers’ work provides valuable insights into the complex dynamics of astrophysical systems, especially the Sun's magnetic field behavior and convection processes.