8:00 pm (HB 227): Robin Forman, A Mathematician talks about Genetics
Abstract: In this talk we give a brief introduction to some of the ways in which mathematics is playing a central role in the investigation of fundamental questions in genetics.
9:30 am (HB227):
Steve Cox: The Fundamental
Equations of Neurodynamics
Abstract: Neuroscience is arguably the most
quantitative of the life sciences. This is due to an amazing synthesis
of theory and experiment developed in four beautiful papers by Hodgkin
and Huxley in 1952. We shall follow their path from descriptive biology
to electric circuit
diagram to partial differential equation to numerical calculation of
the travelling wave along which each and every thought is conveyed.
Should time remain, we'll survey the 52 intervening years.
11 am (HB227)
Rachel Vincent, An
Introduction to Molecular Dynamics Simulation
Abstract: Molecular dynamics (MD) is a computational technique used to study the interactions of molecular systems as they evolve over time. Newton's second law of motion governs atomic motion in classical MD where force is defined as the negative gradient of a potential energy function. In this talk we will provide an introduction to protein structure, discuss an empirical potential energy function, and provide an overview of computer simulation.
12:00 noon: Lunch with Rice Undergraduates at Jones College
1:30 pm (HB227) Rudy
Guerra: Statistics in Genetics
Abstract: Many problems in genetics,
ranging from basic science to clinical applications, involve data
and their analysis. Statistical methodology thus has a very important
role in genetics. In this talk I will give an overview of some current
research problems being addressed by statisticians at Rice, including
statistical genetics and bioinformatics.
3:00 pm: Two concurrent"lab" activities:
I. (Duncan Hall 2010) Steve Cox and Bradford Peercy : Computational Neuroscience Lab
Abstract:
1. Imaging individual cells in slices of brain,
2. Running a NeuroSimulator,
3. Comparing theory to experiment
II. (Duncan Hall 2011) Robin Forman and Theron Hitchman: The mathematician's corner in a fly lab
Abstract: We'll discuss mutants (with pictures) and a model of gene expression during early development of dropsophilia melanogaster.
6:00 pm: Pizza party with
Rice
graduate students.(2043 McClendon (1 1/2 blocks from Best Western
Hotel) 713-6677946)
9:30 am (HB227): Tim Cochran, Knots and DNA
Abstract: A central problem in molecular biology is to understand the mechanisms by wihch enzymes carry out their chemical transformations. For some enzymes that perform vital reactions on DNA, mathematics, in particular knot theory, provides a useful tool. We will discuss how knot theory, a branch of topology, can be used to obtain indirectly information about the action of these enzymes.
11:00 am (HB227): Mark
Embree, Asymptotics
and transients in population modeling
Abstract: The population in the developing
world continues its robust growth, while nations in Western Europe now
shrink. This behavior comes as no surprise to those handy with linear
algebra, for such growth and decay can be modeled via a matrix
iteration. In this talk we will develop such a matrix model, deduce
from spectral theory growth and decay rates, and finally discuss the
possibility that transient growth can occur even in decaying
populations.
12:00 noon: Lunch (in
RiceVillage
)
Afternoon: games (frisbee?, soccer?, chess?)
For a map and further information see "Travel Information" in the Rice Mathematics Department homepage (http://math.rice.edu).
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