3.2 - Mathematical Biology Taught to a Mixed Audience at the Sophomore Level

Summary

Introduction

The interface of mathematics and biology is an exciting area of research and an opportunity for changes in the curriculum. Funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institute for Health are exploring or initiating programs to support this interface. Biology 2010, a report published by the National Research Council, delineates a curriculum for biology majors that is more mathematically intensive than what currently exists at most institutions. Talks related to mathematical biology can now be found at almost all national and regional MAA meetings.

At this point in time, most mathematical biology courses are either modelling courses designed for upper-level mathematics majors or lower level courses (typically with minimal mathematics prerequisites) designed for biology majors. Examples of textbooks used for such courses include Mathematical Models in Biology by Leah Edelstein-Keshet, Mathematical Biology by J.D. Murray, Mathematical Models in Population Biology and Epidemiology by Fred Brauer and Carlos Castillo-Chávez, Understanding Non-linear Dynamics by Daniel Kaplan and Leon Glass, Population Biology by Alan Hastings, and A Course in Mathematical Modeling by Douglas Mooney and Randall Swift.

At Hope College, we chose to take a different approach. With the support of a National Science Foundation grant (NSF-DUE 0089021), we developed a team-taught mathematical biology course targeted at a mixed audience of mathematics and biology majors. The prerequisite for the mathematics students is completion of a linear algebra and differential equations course while the prerequisite for the biology students is completion of a sophomore-level course on ecology and evolutionary biology plus first semester calculus.