PARENT SESSION
Poster Session #51: Education: Undergraduate I.
Thursday, August 8. Presentation from 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM. Exhibit Hall B & C, TCC
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An interdisciplinary course for biology and mathematics majors.
Murray, Greg*,1, Andersen, Janet1, Thomas, Rebekah1, Nederveld, Laurie1, Smith, Richard1, 1 Hope College, Holland, MI
ABSTRACT- Techniques in linear algebra are increasingly used to understand diverse processes in biology, from modeling the population dynamics of endangered sea turtles to designing drug therapies for combating HIV infection. Unfortunately, most biology students have satisfied their math requirements long before they encounter linear algebra techniques like those used to analyze matrix population models. At the same time, mathematics majors are often unaware of the wide array of biological problems to which their expertise can be applied. We have recently designed and taught a course for biology and mathematics students with the central theme of developing the ability to speak a common language. The course is co-taught by a biologist and a mathematician, and students work in mixed groups where biology and math majors help one another to understand the concepts, techniques, and limitations of their respective fields while they analyze papers from the primary literature. The course includes a laboratory component focusing on demographic studies of several invertebrate and plant species. We review the development of the course, some of the materials we've used, and the results of its first offering during the Spring 2002 semester.
KEY WORDS: mathematical biology, interdisciplinary courses, matrix population models