Case Study: University of Alabama achieves advances in pulmonary mechanics research with Rogue Wave Software's IMSL Fortran Numerical Library

University of Alabama Researches Physical Phenomena in Biomedical Science with the IMSL™ Numerical Library

The University of Alabama, led by Dr. David Halpern in the Department of Mathematics, needed to model nonlinear physical phenomena in pulmonary mechanics—such as core‑annular flow instabilities, airway closure/reopening and surfactant delivery—to better understand lung function in premature infants and disease. To solve stiff systems of differential and integral equations they required a comprehensive, reliable numerical toolkit and used the IMSL Fortran Numerical Library from Rogue Wave Software.

Rogue Wave Software’s IMSL Fortran Library supplied trusted algorithms for differential equations, FFTs, linear algebra, Gaussian quadrature, spline approximation and nonlinear solvers, enabling the team to compute detailed simulations of liquid film thickness, surfactant transport and pressure‑driven airway reopening. With IMSL the University of Alabama produced numerical results that quantify surfactant spreading and estimate pressures/forces needed to reopen small airways, directly advancing understanding of pulmonary mechanics and informing potential clinical strategies.

University of Alabama

David Halpern

Professor, Department of Mathematics