Biomathematics Semester

at 

Christopher Newport University

 

Department of Mathematics Colloquium

 

Spring 2013 Schedule

 

 

  • February 14, 12:15 – 1:15, GOSN 202           MODELING THE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE

Dr. Angela Reynolds
Virginia Commonwealth University

 

 

  • February 28, 12:15 – 1:15, GOSN 202

                          MATHEMATICAL ANALYSIS OF THE NEURAL CONTROL OF HORMONE SECRETION

Dr. Natalia Toporikova

Washington and Lee University

 

 

  • March 21, 12:15 – 1:15, GOSN 202

                 PATIENT-SPECIFIC 3D RECONSTRUCTION OF A STENTED CORONARY ARTERY FOR ANALYSIS

                                                                    OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

Dr. Laura Ellwein
Virginia Commonwealth University

 

 

  • March 28, 12:15 – 1:15, GOSN 202 

                                                          PATTERN FORMATION AND CHAOS IN BIOLOGY

Dr. Heather Hardway

Christopher Newport University

 

 

  • April 11, 12:15 – 1:15, GOSN 202

Dr. Jing He

Old Dominion University

Dr. Heather Hardway

Christopher Newport University

Thursday, September 20, 2012   Gosnold 202

12:20 - 1:20 PM

Reaction-Diffusion Models for Dorsal-Ventral Patterning in Development



Dr. Ken Hicks 

Ohio University

Feb. 8, 2012        Wednesday, 3 p.m.  Gosnold 202

Dr. Heather Hoffman

George Washington University

March 14, 2012      Wednesday, 3 p.m.  Gosnold 202

Among the Creationists
Dr. Jason Rosenhouse
Nov. 15, 4-5 p.m.
Forbes 1022

In 1999, the Kansas State Board of Education voted to remove the theory of Darwinian evolution from its state science standards. In 2000, I accepted a post-doctoral position in mathematics at Kansas State University. The juxtaposition of these two events led to my persistent interest in evolution and creationism. For the past decade I have indulged that interest by becoming a regular attendee at creationist conferences and other gatherings. This experience has provided me with a better understanding of why evolution continues to provoke so much opposition. In this talk I shall relate a number of anecdotes that are typical of my experiences among the creationists, explain the major aspects of creationist thought and argumentation, and discuss how these issues relate more broadly to questions about the relationship between science and religion.

The Monty Hall Problem, Reconsidered
Dr. Jason Rosenhouse
Nov. 16, 3-4 p.m.
The Freeman Center, 202

Imagine that you are a game show contestant. You are shown three doors, and told that one of them conceals a car. The other two conceal goats. You choose one of the three doors, but do not open it. The host of the show now opens one of the other two doors, careful always to open one that conceals a goat. He now gives you the option of either sticking with your door, or of switching to the other unopened door. Which option should you choose to maximize your chances of winning the car? This is the Monty Hall problem, and it fools just about everyone. The intuitively obvious answer, that it makes no difference whether you stick or switch, turns out to be incorrect. There is actually a big advantage to be gained from switching doors when permitted to do so. We shall explore the history of the problem and explain why the obvious answer is incorrect. We shall then show how variations on the problem can be used to promote clear thinking about probability.

TBA
Nov. 30, 3  p.m.
Gosnold 202