Modeling the Dynamics of Life: Calculus and Probability for Life Scientists, Second Edition

Designed to help life sciences students understand the role mathematics has played in breakthroughs in epidemiology, genetics, statistics, physiology, and other biological areas, this text provides students with a thorough grounding in mathematics, the language, and 'the technology of thought' with which these developments are created and controlled. The text teaches the skills of describing a system, translating appropriate aspects into equations, and interpreting the results in terms of the original problem. The text helps unify biology by identifying dynamical principles that underlie a great diversity of biological processes. Standard topics from calculus courses are covered, but with particular emphasis on those areas connected with modeling: discrete-time dynamical systems, differential equations, and probability and statistics.

After graduating from Harvard University with a B.A. in Mathematics, Fred Adler received his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics at Cornell University, where he began his study of mathematical biology. Currently a professor in the departments of mathematics and biology at the University of Utah, he teaches courses in mathematical modeling with a wide range of backgrounds. Prof. Adler's research focuses on mathematical ecology, with emphases in mathematical epidemiology, evolutionary ecology, and community ecology.