Instructor:  Konstantin Mischaikow
Office:  265 Hill Center
Office Hours: Wednesday 10:00 and by appointment.
Telephone: 732 445 4658
e-mail:  mischaik [at] math.rutgers.edu  ( I strongly recommend you use e-mail if you wish to contact me)

Course Location:  SEC-211  (Busch Campus)
Course Time: TTh 1:40 - 3:00
Textbook: L. Edelstein-Keshet, Mathematical Models in Biology, SIAM Classics in Applied Mathematics 46

Remarks:

This course assumes familiarity with differential equations
(the prerequisites are Calc4 and Linear Algebra).

Grades will be assigned based on
    - homework (10%),
    - 2 midterms (25% each),
    - a final (30%),
    - and an oral presentation of a paper (10%).

First MIDTERM will be Oct 6 in class

Second MIDTERM will be Nov 10 in class

Student Presentations will be during the last weeks of class (the number of days will
depend on the number of students).  Attendance is Mandatory for these days.

Homework will be assigned regularly. The tests will be closely based on these
assignments.  Homework must be turned in in class by the due date. Late Homework will not be accepted!

Syllabus and Assignments

A highly recomended useful set of notes by Prof. Sontag presents much of the material that we will cover in this course
in a more informal style.

Lecture Notes in Mathematical Biology, by E. Sontag

The Ideas behind the Oral Presentations:

The focus of the lectures is on mathematical
techniques that are of use in the analysis of biological phenomena. The homework
is meant to guide you in honing these skills. The exams will determine whether you
succeeded. However, it is easy to lose track of the big picture - that mathematics has
an important role to play in biology - when one is concentrating on learning skills.

The textbook was  originally published in 1988 - a tremendous amount has happened
in the field of mathematical biology since then. However, I think it still acts as a
fairly comprehensive introduction to the field.

The oral presentation is an attempt to both bring the big picture into play and to allow
you to become aware of current more current applications of mathematics to the life
sciences. Thus for the oral presentation you must find a refereed paper that has been
published later than 1990 and applies the mathematical tools covered in class to a
problem in the life sciences.

You are expected to give a 20 minute presentation, that describes the biological
problem, the mathematical model and results, and your own personal critique of
the quality of the work.

Last modified on Sept. 6, 2009