Mathematically speaking, the complexity of the human brain and the unstable nature of turbulence really aren’t all that different. In fact, in spite of their peculiarities, the analysis techniques are very similar to these nonlinear dynamical systems. Lennaert van Veen, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director of Modelling and Computational Science in the Faculty of Science, explores the application of dynamical systems theory to complex phenomena and high-dimensional chaos. A Project Leader with Collective Lab for Applied and Interdisciplinary Mathematics (CLAIM), his latest research focuses on transitions and pattern formation in physical and physiological systems with applications in fluid turbulence, as well as cortical dynamics of depression, both of which have been poorly understood. Dr. van Veen is investigating ways to model the human cortex and develop novel computational techniques for turbulence. His research will expand the knowledge of how these systems function, and feed into research to develop advanced techniques for minimizing turbulence, as well as create novel strategies for less invasive brain control, with the ultimate goal of curing brain disorders. He completed his Master of Science in Theoretical Physics at the University of Amsterdam and received his Doctorate in Applied Mathematics at the Utrecht University and the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute in Bilt, Netherlands. Subsequently, he was awarded successive post-doctoral fellowships by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Mathematics and Statistics of Complex Systems. In 2007, Dr. van Veen was appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Concordia University in Montréal, Québec, and continued to serve as an Adjunct Assistant Professor until 2011. Broadening his international teaching experience, he was named a Researcher in Residence for the Research Experiences for Undergraduates program at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York and taught in the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics program of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. He continues to share his expertise via Virtual Researcher on Call (www.vroc.ca), enabling secondary school students to access interviews discussing his research topics. Ontario Tech University's