Mathematical, Theoretical and Computational Ecology and Evolution
The Departments of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Mathematics, and Computer Science support a concentration in Mathematical Ecology and Evolution at both the Masters and Doctorate levels. Degrees offered for students in the Mathematical Ecology program are the MS and Ph.D. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, and the MS and Ph.D. in Mathematics. The Mathematical Ecology/Evolution Program emphasizes mathematical and computational ecology & evolution in its courses and research activities.
Research Activities
The research activities and related publications of the faculty may be found on their home pages. External research funding obtained by the Mathematical Ecology group includes recent grants from the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Geological Survey, National Institutes of Health, and Cadmus, Inc. Many research activities are sponsored through The Institute for Environmental Modeling which fosters interdisciplinary efforts within our research group and with other institutions such as Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Facilities and Equipment
Facilities include two computational laboratories that house approximately 20 workstations, and a variety of additional support facilities for graduate students. The facilities provided through the Institute for Environmental Modeling, based within EEB, are likely the finest computational resources associated with any research and graduate program in computational ecology in the US.
Courses Offered
UTK is perhaps the only U.S. university that offers formal courses covering two full years of Mathematical Ecology. Our group also offers a course in theoretical evolution entitled Mathematical Evolutionary Theory. A math ecology seminar course is offered each semester to encourage faculty and student interactions on research topics. Typically a book is read, discussed and reviewed during one semester, with the second semester devoted to presentations on current research projects underway in the group. At the undergraduate level, the group has been a world leader in the development of quantitative training programs for life science students.
Faculty
Faculty are housed in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Computer Science, though several have joint appointments in more than one department. The faculty in Mathematical Ecology include:
- Dr. Michael Berry, Associate Professor of Computer Science. Computational ecology. (mberry@utk.edu)
- Dr. James Drake, Associate Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. Theoretical ecology, aquatic ecology, invasion biology, complexity. (jdrake@utk.edu)
- Dr. Sergey Gavrilets, Distinguished Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and Mathematics. Mathematical genetics and evolution. (gavrila@tiem. utk.edu)
- Dr. Michael A Gilchrist, Assistant Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. Theoretical evolutionary biology. Ecological and molecular bioinformatics. (mikeg@utk.edu)
- Dr. Louis J. Gross, Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and Mathematics. Computational ecology, individual-based models. (gross@tiem.utk.edu)
- Dr. Thomas G. Hallam, Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. Mathematical ecology, computational ecology, ecological risk assessment. (hallam@tiem.utk.edu)
- Dr. Suzanne Lenhart, Professor of Mathematics. Mathematical epidemiology, population models, and optimal control. (slenhart@math.utk.edu)
- Dr. Wilfred Post, Adjunct Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Global carbon cycling, mutualism, ecological theory. (wpm@ornl.gov)
- Dr. Susan Riechert, Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. Community ecology, behavior ecology, and evolutionary game theory. (sriecher@utk.edu)
- Dr. Daniel Simberloff, Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and Nancy Gore Hunger Chair of Excellence in Environmental Studies. Conservation biogeography, community ecology and invasion biology. (dsimberloff@utk.edu)
Students
The average number of students in the program is approximately 15; they are enrolled in the Departments of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Mathematics or Computer Science. The student group is highly multidisciplinary with interests ranging from mathematicians interested in applications of mathematics and computational science to problems of ecology to ecologists applying mathematical models to understand populations, communities and ecosystems. Students are usually funded through grants as research assistants or as graduate teaching assistants. However, depending on the interest of the student, other forms of employment are available. For example, recently students have been carrying out projects in conjunction with research at the University Hospital and an environmental consulting firm.
Program Inquiries
The best way to find out about our program is to visit us in Knoxville; we certainly welcome such visits which will allow you to talk to students as well as faculty. When inquiring about the program please tell us about yourself. What biology, ecology, statistics and math courses have you taken? What computer skills do you have? What areas of research are of interest to you? What are your GPA and GRE scores? Are you interested in a Ph. D. in Ecology or Math or CS? What do you plan to do after getting your degree? Answers to these questions will enable us to better respond to your inquiries.