"Tales from the other side: What does biology have to offer math, and vice versa?"

Abstract: Historically, biology has often been perceived as the least mathematical of the sciences, a lesser cousin to physics and chemistry. The few well-known examples of mathematical applications in biology (e.g., predator-prey models) may seem isolated exceptions to this overall pattern. In fact, for at least the past 100 years, biology has both benefitted from and contributed to the development of new techniques in graph theory, linear algebra, statistical analysis, and stochastic processes. With the advent of more powerful computers, additional developments have followed in computability theory and data analytics. In this talk, I will introduce three major areas of biological research — phylogenetic networks, gene finding, and behavioral modeling) that not only draw on mathematical principles, but that also provide challenges that may help stimulate the development of new mathematical techniques.

Host: John McCarthy

Tea @ 3:45 in room 200