Kara Maki Headshot

Kara Maki

Professor, Applied Mathematics

School of Mathematics and Statistics
College of Science
Director, Mathematical Modeling Program
klmsma@rit.edu
585-475-2541
Office Hours
Wednesdays 12:30-2:30PM Thursdays 9:30-11:30AM
Office Location
GOS-2358

Kara Maki

Professor, Applied Mathematics

School of Mathematics and Statistics
College of Science
Director, Mathematical Modeling Program

Education

BS, University of New Hampshire; MS, Ph.D., University of Delaware

klmsma@rit.edu
585-475-2541
Personal Links
Curriculum Vitae
Google Scholar
LinkedIn
Areas of Expertise
Mathematical Modeling

Select Scholarship

Journal Paper
O'Brien, Jordana E., et al. "Quantifying evaporative-driven flow inside drying droplets with pinned contact lines." Journal of Engineering Mathematics 150. 1 (2025): 1-28. Print.
O'Brien, Jordana E., Kara L. Maki, and Jennifer A. O'Neil. "Predicting particle deposition in an adult human lung using an oscillatory, lumped respiratory model." Journal of Aerosol Science 181. (2024): 106430. Print.
Li, Xi, Kara L. Maki, and Michael J. Schertzer. "Characterization of Particle Transport and Deposition Due to Heterogeneous Dewetting on Low-Cost Inkjet-Printed Devices." Langmuir. (2023): 3c02224. Web.
Bernetski, Kimberly A., et al. "Predicting actuated contact line pinning forces and the elimination of hysteresis under AC electrowetting." Microfluidics and Nanofluidics 26. (2022): 94. Print.
Wong, Tony E., et al. "Evaluating the sensitivity of SARS-CoV-2 infection rates on college campuses to wastewater surveillance." Infectious Disease Modeling 6. (2021): 1144-1158. Print.
Maki, Kara L., Richard J. Braun, and Gregory A. Barron. "The Influence of a Lipid Reservoir on the Tear Film Formation." Mathematical Medicine and Biology: A Journal of the IMA 37. (2020): 363-388. Print.
Greyson, Marcette, Michael J. Schertzer, and Kara L. Maki. "Coplanar Electrowetting-induced Droplet De-tachment from Radially Symmetric Electrodes." Langmuir 36. (2020): 8129-8136. Print.
Bernetski, Kimberly A, Kara L Maki, and Michael J Schertzer. "Comment on “How to make sticky surfaces slippery: Contact angle hysteresis in electrowetting with alternating voltage”." Appl. Phys. Lett. 114. (2019): 116101. Print.
Li, Longfei, et al. "Tear Film Dynamics with Evaporation, Wetting, and Time-dependent Flux Boundary Condition on an Eye-shaped Domain." Physics of Fluids 26. 5 (2014): 52101. Print.
Maki, Kara L. and David S. Ross. "Exchange of Tears under a Contact Lens Is Driven by Distortions of the Contact Lens." Integrative and Comparative Biology 54. 6 (2014): 1043-1050. Print.
Lee, S. H., et al. "Gravity-driven Instability of a Thin Liquid Film Underneath a Soft Solid." Physical Review E 90. 5 (2014): 53009. Print.
Huang, J., et al. "Phantom Study of Tear Film Dynamics with Optical Coherence Tomography and Maximum-likelihood Estimation." Optics Letters 38. (2013): 1721-1723. Print.
Huang, J., et al. "Maximum-likelihood Estimation in Optical Coherence Tomography in the Context of the Tear." Biomedical Optics Express 4. (2013): 1806-1816. Print.
Maki, Kara L. and Yuriko Renardy. "The Dynamics of a Viscoelastic Liquid which Displays Thixotropic Yield Stress Behavior." Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics 181. (2012): 30-50. Print.
Maki, Kara L. and Satish Kumar. "Fast Evaporation of Spreading Droplets of Colloidal Suspensions." Langmuir 27. (2011): 11347-11363. Print.
Invited Paper
Reed, Kenneth, et al. "Modeling the Kinetic Behavior of Reactive Oxygen Species with Cerium Dioxide Nanoparticles." Biomolecules. (2019). Web.
Maki, Kara L. and David S. Ross. "A New Model for the Suction Pressure Under A Contact Lens." Journal of Biological Systems. (2014). Print.
Invited Article/Publication
Maki, Kara L, et al. "A model for tear film dynamics during a realistic blink." Journal for Modeling in Ophthalmology. (2019). Web.
Maki, Kara L., Rodolfo Repetto, and Richard J. Braun. "Mathematical modeling highlights from ARVO 2018." Journal for Modeling in Ophthalmology. (2019). Web.

Currently Teaching

MATH-241
Linear Algebra
3 Credits
This course is an introduction to the basic concepts of linear algebra, and techniques of matrix manipulation. Topics include linear transformations, Gaussian elimination, matrix arithmetic, determinants, vector spaces, linear independence, basis, null space, row space, and column space of a matrix, eigenvalues, eigenvectors, change of basis, similarity and diagonalization. Various applications are studied throughout the course.
MATH-606
Graduate Seminar I
1 Credit
The course prepares students to engage in activities necessary for independent mathematical research and introduces students to a broad range of active interdisciplinary programs related to applied mathematics.
MATH-607
Graduate Seminar II
1 Credit
This course is a continuation of Graduate Seminar I. It prepares students to engage in activities necessary for independent mathematical research and introduces them to a broad range of active interdisciplinary programs related to applied mathematics.
MATH-622
Mathematical Modeling I
3 Credits
This course will introduce graduate students to the logical methodology of mathematical modeling. They will learn how to use an application field problem as a standard for defining equations that can be used to solve that problem, how to establish a nested hierarchy of models for an application field problem in order to clarify the problem’s context and facilitate its solution. Students will also learn how mathematical theory, closed-form solutions for special cases, and computational methods should be integrated into the modeling process in order to provide insight into application fields and solutions to particular problems. Students will study principles of model verification and validation, parameter identification and parameter sensitivity and their roles in mathematical modeling. In addition, students will be introduced to particular mathematical models of various types: stochastic models, PDE models, dynamical system models, graph-theoretic models, algebraic models, and perhaps other types of models. They will use these models to exemplify the broad principles and methods that they will learn in this course, and they will use these models to build up a stock of models that they can call upon as examples of good modeling practice.
MATH-790
Research & Thesis
0-9 Credits
Masters-level research by the candidate on an appropriate topic as arranged between the candidate and the research advisor.
MATH-791
Continuation of Thesis
0 Credits
Continuation of Thesis
MATH-799
MATH GRADUATE Independent Study
1-3 Credits
Independent Study

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