Summer Graduate School

The aim of this summer school is to introduce students to landmark results in mathematical ecology while emphasizing the modern techniques and ideas developed to address these emerging challenges. The school will begin with a review of classical questions and results, together with a discussion of new problems arising from both novel data sources and changing environmental conditions. Particular emphasis will be placed on identifying ecological questions that are amenable to mathematical formulation.

The core of the school will focus on modern dynamical systems approaches. A sequence of lectures will introduce nonautonomous systems, including their attractors, stability theory, and bifurcation structure, with a strong emphasis on transient dynamics and tipping phenomena. This will be complemented by an introduction to ergodic theory and random dynamical systems, providing tools to model and analyse stochastic influences and variability. The final part of the school will return to open problems in ecology, highlighting how these modern mathematical frameworks can be used to address unresolved questions and to formulate new ones.

School Structure

Each day will consist of two lectures and two discussion/problem sessions. The discussion afternoon sessions will include reading material related to lectures, numerical/computer solutions, and discussion of open problems.

Prerequisites

First degree or equivalent in mathematics or a highly quantitative biological science. Introductory courses in differential equations, linear algebra, and probability. An advanced course in dynamical systems or stochastic processes is preferable, but not a must.

Application Procedure

SLMath is only able to support a limited number of students to attend this school.  Therefore, it is likely that only one student per institution will be funded by SLMath.

For eligibility and how to apply, see the Summer Graduate Schools homepage.

Venue

The summer school will be hosted at the newly established National Institute for Theory and Mathematics in Biology (NITMB), located in the John Hancock Building in the heart of downtown Chicago.