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International Conference on Mathematical Biology and

Annual Meeting of The Society for Mathematical Biology,

July 27-30, 2009

University of British Columbia, Vancouver

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Program

MSH1b
Patrick Shipman
Colorado State University, USA
Title Shapes and Symmetries: Patterns in Plants and Mollusks
Abstract Tiling planforms dominated by diamonds (such as the diamond-shaped seeds on a sunflower head), hexagons, or ridges (such as those on saguaro cacti) are observed on many plants. Similar patterns are observed in mollusk shells. We analyze PDE models for the formation of these patterns that incorporate the effects of growth and biophysical and biochemical mechanisms. The aim is to understand both the underlying symmetries and the information specific to the mechanisms.
LocationWoodward 1