SPATIAL STRUCTURES IN BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY: MODELS AND METHODS
The European Society for Mathematical and Theoretical Biology (ESMTB) is happy to announce a Biomathematics Summer School to be held in Martina Franca (Taranto, Italy) September 4-15, 2000.
Presentation
Spatial structures" are those biological and ecological entities whose functions depend on the spatial relationship of their components. Examples in biology include morphogenesis, pattern formation, angiogenesis, tumor growth, chemotaxis, cytoskeletal mechanics, rabies propagation, seasonal bird migrations, patchy structure of plankton and fish populations.
Spatially distributed processes can be modelled at different scales, depending on the features of interest and on the level of aggregation of their components. Scaling is associated with the choice of representation: from discrete to continuous, from stochastic to deterministic, from ordinary to partial to stochastic differential equations, from cellular automata to particle systems, from mean-fields to individual-based models.
The purpose of the school is to present recent advances and offer interdisciplinary training in the modeling and the study of spatial structures encountered in biology and ecology. The approach will consist in the presentation of real life examples together with the treatment of the models by which these examples may be represented, with the perspective of extracting generally valid and useful methods and techniques.
The target audience is composed of advanced graduate students and post-doctoral researchers. Individuals with a mathematical background (mathematics, applied math., physics, engineering) interested in biological problems, as well as participants from the biological fields (ecology, biology, medicine, natural sciences, etc) willing to employ mathematical techniques in the study of their problems, are encouraged to apply.
The school will be mainly composed of parallel courses (see below), whose
teaching will be conducted in 40 minute units with breaks in between. Each
course is conceived as a whole, with a reasonable number of goals to be
achieved by the end of it. The basic material needed for understanding the
course shall be classical and otherwise an appropriate introduction will be
included. Concise course materials will be distributed on the first day of
the school. In addition to the courses, there will be invited conferences
(40mn) and communications by participants (20mn).
Courses (instructors)
Morphogenesis (P. Maini, N.A.M. Monk, E. Plathe, G.F. Oster)
Taxis and diffusion (T. Hillen, A. Stevens)
Modelling cell migration (M. Chaplain)
Time scales and space (R. Bravo de la Parra: P. Auger, J.C. Poggiale, E.
Sánchez)
Metapopulation dynamics (M. Gyllenberg)
Interacting particles and stochastic differential equations
(V. Capasso, S. Gueron)
Computer simulation of populations (A. Deutsch, A. Lomnicki,
C. LePage)
Estimation (A. De Gaetano)
Numerical methods (L.M. Abia, J.C. López-Marcos)
Conference schedule The school begins on Monday, September 4, 2000. The duration of the school is two weeks, including 10 days of classes, Monday through Friday. Each day there will be 8 lecture units of 40 min by the staff and by invited speakers, as well as two 20 min lectures contributed by participants.
Location Martina Franca is a small town in southern Italy, in the Puglia countryside with olive groves, prickle pears and the renowned "trulli" archaic houses. The medieval town centre, enclosed by the city walls, is very pleasant to stroll about, and includes a Ducal Palace, in whose main Hall the school's lectures will be held. Weather is mild to warm, sunny most of the time. Martina Franca may be reached by plane (Bari airport), train or bus.
ACCOMODATION Participants will be lodged at the Park Hotel S. Michele; it is a nice hotel, with a well kept garden and a large swimming pool. The Lectures will be at the Palazzo Ducale (City Hall), within short walking distance, at the Sala Arcadia.
Deadlines
Information:
If you are interested in coming to the school, please e-mail the
following information to martina.franca@uni.uah.es, and
you will be kept up-to-date with all developments. Updated
information about the school as well as a direct web contact form is
to be found on the web page:
URL:http://www.mat.unimi.it/ miriam/ismtb/martina-ss/summer_school.html