Lancaster UniversityLEC



Wlodek Tych


(actually Dr. Włodzimierz Tych,
but who in this country will pronounce my first name ?)

Senior Research Fellow

Principal of Furness College

Director of Studies (ENV degrees Part II)
LEC Natural Sciences Tutor
LEC Environmental Mathematics Tutor
 

Academic interests:

For more details and publications list please see my University research page with full current information, which is updated automatically.

Info:

UNEP Air Report:

Dynamic Harmonic Regression (DHR) method, developed by our research group and implemented in Captain Toolbox for Matlab, features in the Guidance Section of the UNEP Air Report as a recommended research tool for investigation of trends and for seasonal adjustment. This recommendation follows a successful recently published application of DHR in analysis of fate and dynamics of atmospheric POPs (Persistent Organic Pollutants) - a joint project with Sara Massey (NERC funded Ph.D. Student) and Crispin Halsall (see Recent Publications).

See a simplified example of DHR analysis here showing how easy it is to obtain seasonally adjusted data and a statistical assessment of change, both long term and instantaneous.

 New Release of Captain Toolbox

New release of Captain Toolbox  (version 7.0, December 2009 with subsequent minor updates and bug-fixes) includes new and improved estimation procedures for continuous and discrete transfer function identification and estimation. The new procedures for continuous time estimation will have significant impact in estimation of complex and stiff systems, which combine very fast and very slow dynamic modes as well as full ARMA (Box-Jenkins) noise models.

Publications:

Recent (2007-2011)

Walsh, R.P.D., Bidin, K., Blake, W.H., Chappell, N.A., Clarke, M.A., Douglas, I., Ghazali, R., Sayer, A.M., Suhaimi, J., Tych, W. and Annammala, K.V. (2011) Longer-term responses of rainforest erosional systems at different spatial scales to selective logging and climatic change. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B., (in submission)

Tych, W. and P. C. Young (2011) A matlab software framework for dynamic model emulation., Environmental Modelling & Software (in reviews)

Chappell N.A., Tych W. (2011) Identifying step changes in streamflow and evapo-transpiration records due to forest cover change, Hydrological Processes (in print)

Tych W., Sadeghi J. , Smith P.J., Chotai A., Taylor C.J. (2011) Multi-State-Dependent parameter model identification and estimation, In L. Wang, H. Garnier, and A. J. Jakeman (Eds.), System Identification, Environmetric Modelling and Control, Berlin. Springer-Verlag

Taylor C.J., Chotai A., Tych W. (2011) Linear and Nonlinear Non–Minimal State Space Control System Design, In L. Wang, H. Garnier, and A. J. Jakeman (Eds.), System Identification, Environmetric Modelling and Control, Berlin. Springer-Verlag

Sadeghi J., Tych W., Chotai A., Young P.C. (2010) Multi-state dependent parameter model identification and estimation for nonlinear dynamic systems, Electronics Letters, 46(18)   *

Chappell N.A., Discenza A. R., Tych W., Whittaker J., Bidin K. (2009) Simulating hourly rainfall occurrence within an equatorial rainforest, Borneo Island, Hydrological Sciences–Journal–des Sciences Hydrologiques, 54(3)   *

Smith, P.J., Hughes, D., Beven K.J., Cross P., Tych W., Coulson G., Blair G., (2009) Provision of site specific flood warnings using wireless sensor networks, Meteorol. Appl. 16: 57–64  also published in: Samuels, P. and Huntingdon, S. and Allsop, W. and Harrop, J., (eds.) Flood risk management : research and practice. CRC Press, London. ISBN 9780415485074

S. Becker, C. J. Halsall, W. Tych, R. Kallenborn, M. Schlabach, and S. Manø, (2009), Changing sources and environmental factors reduce the rates of decline of organochlorine pesticides in the Arctic Atmosphere, Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., 9, 515–540   *

Sochaczewski, L; Davison, W; Tych, W; Zhang, H, (2009), Understanding small-scale features in DGT measurements in sediments, Environmental Chemistry,  6(6) 477–485    

Hughes D., Daude M., Coulson G., Blair G., Beven K., Smith P., Tych W., (2008) Managing Heterogeneous Data Flows in Wireless Sensor Networks Using a ‘Split Personality’ Mote Platform, in the proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on SensorWebs, Databases and Mining in Networked Sensing Systems (SWDMNSS 2008), Turku, Finland, July 2008.

Smith P., Beven K., Tych W., Hughes D., Blair G., (2008) The Provision of Site Specific Flood Warnings Using Wireless Sensor Networks., in the proceedings of the European Conference on Flood Risk Management (FloodRisk’08), Oxford, UK, September 2008.

Sochaczewski, L; Stockdale, A; Davison, W; Tych, W; Zhang, H, (2008), A three-dimensional reactive transport model for sediments, incorporating microniches, Environmental Chemistry,  5 (3):218-225

Becker, S; Halsall, CJ; Tych, W; Kallenborn, R; Su, Y; Hung, H (2008), Long-term trends in atmospheric concentrations of alpha- and gamma-HCH in the Arctic provide insight into the effects of legislation and climatic fluctuations on contaminant levels, Atmospheric Environment, 42 (35):8225-8233 2008  *

N.J. Lehto, Ł. Sochaczewski, W. Davison, W. Tych, H. Zhang, (2008) Quantitative assessment of soil parameter (KD and TC) estimation using DGT measurements and the 2D DIFS model, Chemosphere, Volume 71, Issue 4, March 2008, Pages 795-801

Solera-Garcia M.A., Chappell N, Tych W. (2007), Identification of Diurnal, Seasonal and Inter-Annual Variability Across SE Asian Field Observations of key Water Cycle Variables: Rainfall, net Radiation, Total Evaporation and River Discharge, AGU, 88(52)

Chappell N.A.C, Tych W., Bonnell M., 2007, Development of the forSIM model to quantify positive and negative hydrological impacts of tropical reforestation, Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 251, Issues 1-2, 30 October 2007, Pages 52-64

Łukasz Sochaczewski, Włodek Tych, Bill Davison, Hao Zhang, 2007, 2D DGT induced fluxes in sediments and soils (2D DIFS), Environmental Modelling & Software,  22, 1, 14-23

C.James Taylor, Diego J. Pedregal, Peter C. Young, Wlodek Tych: (2007) Environmental time series analysis and forecasting with the Captain toolbox. Environmental Modelling and Software 22(6): 797-814

Most cited (with citation indices)

Full list

 

Current and Recent Projects

The general thread in these apparently wide-ranging application areas is modelling of complex natural dynamic systems while not denying the underlying uncertainties; and the effect of scale (both spatial and temporal) on the modelling process and model structure. The other fundamental element in these modelling exercises is their Data-Based Mechanistic character, whereby the model structure is not assumed, but identified using objective statistical criteria. Complexity of the model that is identifiable depends strongly on the available data - we can only model the modes of behaviour of the system under investigation that are present and 'visible' in the data.  This approach to modelling is what brought me to Lancaster in the first place.

 

 

 

 

 

Ph.D. Students since 1999 (completion dates)

With Bill Davison and Hao Zhang

Michael Harper (2002)
Łukasz Sochaczewski (2009)
Nik Lehto (2008)

With Arun Chotai and Peter Young

Jafar Sadeghi (2006)

With Nick Chappell

Ann Kretzschmar (current)
Maria Garcia-Solera (2010)
Boateng Ampadu (2008)

With James Taylor (Engineering)

Eleni Sidiropoulou (2009)

With Crispin Halsall

Sara Massey (Becker) (2008)

 

Earlier major projects

Other academic and technical interest and expertise areas:

 

Teaching:

 

Current work (teaching):

 

Main (professional) challenges not easily categorised as research or teaching:

Before that: Joined the Lancaster Systems and Control Group in January 1989, arriving from Warsaw, Poland to work with Peter Young and Arun Chotai on development of new modelling and control methods and the accompanying software.

Previous experience includes modelling work for and with:

All of this work is related to dynamic stochastic systems, their modelling, control and forecasting.

This would be my photoPersonal interests
(only the main ones, and excluding work, which surprisingly, and to dismay of some, should be on this list as well):

·         Music (jazz: Jan Garbarek and Keith Jarrett for instance, but also classical: J.S. Bach, G.P. Telemann, Medieval and Renaissance music)

·         Brick oven (cooking related): the result of one summer’s evening work (May-September 2008) surprised both me and my friends and family. The oven is now used nearly each week-end and makes the best pizza I have ever tried, along with all manners of roasted, stewed, grilled and smoked food, as well as sourdough and other types of bread.

·         Cooking: ice-cream [thanks Steve B - still a specialty !], but also various salads, smoked foods and whatever comes, depending on the circumstances, supply and demand. Sourdough bread is now a weekly ritual with very edible results.

·         Cats - until recently exclusively a "dog person" I discovered cats as sociable and interesting members of the family group (or should I say "pride" now?)

·         Photography, with some of the results visible around the ES Building in Lancaster, others on Google Earth (as Wlodek_T) as well as on Flickr.

·         Sailing (on the Polish lakes mainly, as caught here on the right, but if you offer me a Med or a Scottish Isles cruise I will probably not refuse .. he says rhyming inadvertently)

Useful links

XE Currency converter

Counselling

 

Research data store

(of no interest or use whatsoever for anyone except research partners; contains raw data files, no description; links might be inactive as I allow access to files on demand)


page last updated: 17th March 2009 (under continuous if spasmodic construction)

Copyright © W.Tych and University of Lancaster 1994-2009. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.