Forward simulations of the propagation and scattering of transient electromagnetic (EM) waves in complex media are important in a variety of applications, such as radar, environmental and medical imaging, noninvasive detection of cancerous tumors, design of engineered composites such as metamaterials, communication and computation, and global climate assessment, among others. These applications involve multiple spatial and temporal scales, complex geometries, spatial and temporal heterogeneities, and stochastic effects at small scales.

Biological tissues are complex media with inhomogeneous and frequency dependent (dispersive) properties. Analyses of EM wave interactions with biological media is fundamental in many medical applications, such as noninvasive diagnosis techniques, and for advancing the quality of medical imaging in general. Characterization of EM wave interaction with natural media is of great importance for environmental remote sensing and global climate assessment. In recent years, there has been an upsurge in the design and development of new materials with tailored EM properties under the conceptual umbrella of metamaterials. These include, but are not limited to, ferroelectric materials, EM or photonic bandgap materials, low-loss magnetodielectrics, left-handed or double-negative media, low-k dielectrics, and surface plasmon devices. Engineered metamaterials have shown great promise as building blocks for devices with unique EM responses, from the microwave to the optical frequency range.

The applications above involve EM wave propagation in complex materials, and require solving the time-domain Maxwell's equations in the materials considered. In most cases, due to the presence of heterogeneities and complex geometries, it is impossible to solve Maxwell's equations exactly. Thus, the development and analysis of efficient numerical methods that are accurate, consistent, and stable is important for constructing reliable prediction tools for simulating EM waves in complex materials.

This workshop aims to bring together different scientific communities, including mathematicians, engineers, physicists, software developers and other relevant people, to disseminate current progress in their areas and develop potential collaborations to address challenges involved in the solution of the time-domain Maxwell's equations in complex materials through computational and experimental research with the broad aim of addressing and solving real-world applications.