UBM-Undergraduate collaborative group in mathematical biology

艾夫斯，米列夫斯基这两位研究人员培训了一个由4名本科生组成的长期合作小组(为期2年)，他们致力于一系列数学生物学问题的研究。其中一名研究人员是非生物学家，另一名是应用数学家，但两人都与其他学科的研究人员合作。研究人员与4名本科生合作，解决了至少三个生物学和数学交界处的问题：(1)为什么周期性蝉有很长的质数周期？(2)为什么菠萝、松果(和许多其他植物)显示出Fibonnaci序列的模式？(3)随着物种灭绝而崩溃，生态系统的功能是如何变化的？对于协作小组来说，这三个问题是一个令人兴奋的起点，它们被选中既能保持学生的兴趣，又能在协作过程中获得生命。尽管生物学(特别是生态学)的一些领域与数学有着丰富的合作历史，但目前这两个领域的理论和技术进步的爆炸性增长提高了跨学科工作的赌注。为了在生物学和数学之间开展工作，更多的科学家需要在这两个领域接受培训，并接受如何将这两个领域联系起来的培训。认识到一个人不可能有效地跨越领域之间的鸿沟，未来的科学家也必须背叛合作。利用本科生协作学习小组培养参与的本科生和调查人员的跨学科思维。它也为培养本科生进行学科间的衔接研究提供了一种模式。

Ives, Milewski The two investigators train a long-term (2-year)collaborative group of 4 undergraduates working on a suite ofproblems in mathematical biology. One of the investigators is abiologist, and the other is an applied mathematician, yet bothhave collaborated with researchers from the other discipline.The investigators work collaboratively with 4 undergraduates andaddress aspects of at least three problems at the interface ofbiology and mathematics: (1) Why do periodical cicadas have long,prime-numbered periods? (2) Why do pineapples, pinecones (andmany other plants) display patterns with Fibonnaci sequences?and (3) How does the functioning of ecosystems change as theycollapse via species extinctions? These three questions are anexciting starting point for the collaborative group, and they areselected to both keep the interest of the students and take lifethrough the collaborative process. Although some areas of biology (ecology in particular) haveluminous histories of partnership with mathematics, the currentexplosion of theoretical and technological advances in bothfields has upped the ante for interdisciplinary work. To work atthe interface between biology and mathematics, more scientistsneed to be trained in both fields, and trained in how to connectthe fields. Recognizing that a single person cannot span the gapbetween fields effectively, future scientists must also betrained to work collaboratively. Using collaborative learninggroups for undergraduates fosters interdisciplinary thinking forthe participating undergraduates and the investigators. It alsoserves as a model for training undergraduates to do research atthe interface between disciplines.