Lectures examine mathematical challenges of biology

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March 2, 2005

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/rand.jpg” caption=”David Rand, chair of the Department of Mathematics at the University of Warwick”]A world leader in dynamical systems theory and mathematical biology will deliver next week's Britton Lectures.

David Rand, chair of the Department of Mathematics at the University of Warwick, uses mathematical modeling to study evolutionary and ecological systems, to improve our understanding of the processes of biological change, and to develop new theories about the behaviour of ecological systems. Much of his work is driven by questions arising in experimental biology and in medicine, to which he applies deep mathematical theories and his own creative insights.

Hosted by the Department of Mathematics & Statistics, Rand will present the following lectures:

  • Monday, March 7 — Evolutionary design principles for circadian clocks, in Hamilton Hall, Rm. 302

  • Tuesday, March 8 — Estimating the parameters and structure of gene-protein regulatory networks, in Hamilton Hall, Rm. 109

  • Wednesday, March 9 — A prototypical problem of plant development: the spatio-temporal patterning of the Arabidopsis flower, in Hamilton Hall, Rm. 302

  • Friday, March 11 — How the immune system recognizes invading pathogens: uncovering system design principles behind T cell activation, in Hamilton Hall, Rm. 302

    • All lectures will be held from 3:30 – 4:20 pm.

    The lectures are named after Ronald Britton, a former professor of mathematics at McMaster, who served as chair of the Department of Mathematics. After his retirement, he endowed the annual Britton Lectures in memory of his late wife Helen E. Britton. The Britton Lectures have provided the University with a series of distinguished invited speakers since its beginning in 1978.