Society for Mathematical Biology nautilus logo

International Conference on Mathematical Biology and

Annual Meeting of The Society for Mathematical Biology,

July 27-30, 2009

University of British Columbia, Vancouver

.

Program

Poster PS44A
Evan Haskell
Nova Southeastern University
Title Undergraduate Mathematical Biology without a Mathematics Major
Abstract Nova Southeastern University is the nation’s sixth largest independent university with more than 26,000 students and 6,000 undergraduate students served by the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences. The college offers 18 intensive major programs and a varied roster of more than 30 complementary minor programs. The college offers large undergraduate programs in pre-medical biology and experimental psychology yet offers very limited Mathematics courses. Fewer than 10% of those completing Calculus I continue their Mathematics studies. Over the past four years Mathematics at NSU has experienced tremendous growth in both student interest and new full-time PhD faculty showing a keen interest in application of their diverse backgrounds from functional analysis to complex geometry towards modeling in Biology. Over the past two years with Mathematical backgrounds ranging from coursework in Calculus II to Ordinary Differential Equations; students have completed successfully completed independent study courses in statistical genetics, modeling of retinal disorders, computational neuroscience, and nonlinear dynamics and chaos with a focus on nonlinear oscillators in biological systems. In this presentation I overview the Mathematics program at NSU and Mathematical Modeling projects in Biology that students have successfully completed with minimal Mathematics backgrounds. I discuss some of the challenges the students overcame, the role of technology in these projects, and the students successful presentations in the NSU Undergraduate Student Symposium.
LocationWoodward Lobby (Monday-Tuesday)