Differential Equations for the Life Sciences

Catalog description

This course provides students with an understanding of how mathematics and life sciences can stimulate and enrich each other. The course topics include first order differential equations, separable equations, second order systems, vector and matrix systems, eigenvectors/eigenvalues, graphical and qualitative methods. The methods are motivated with examples from the biological sciences (growth models, kinetics and compartmental models, epidemic models, predator-prey, etc). Computational modeling will be carried out using SimBiology, a MATLAB toolbox based graphical user interface, which which automates and simplifies the process of modeling biological systems. Credit cannot be given for both MA 341 and MA 331 .