UMaine Professor Offers Outreach in Mathematical Biology to Maine High School Teachers, Students
Contact: David Hiebeler, 581-3924
ORONO — Starting this fall, Maine high school students can work alongside University of Maine researchers as part of a unique outreach effort at the SPEED (Spatial Population Ecological and Epidemiological Dynamics) Lab. Under the guidance of David Hiebeler, a professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, the lab’s research team builds computational and mathematical models of populations, which describe their behavior over time under a variety of simulated environmental conditions.
Real-world applications for the research include understanding more effective pesticide application in Maine blueberry fields, studying how infectious diseases spread and predicting — and perhaps combating — the worldwide spread of a computer worm.
In the lab, Hiebeler works with UMaine undergraduates, some of whom plan to teach at the K-12 level after graduation. However, he would like to engage math and science teachers already working in Maine high schools, as well.
To that end, Hiebeler will offer talks in schools this spring that introduce students and teachers in eastern Maine to modeling and simulation in mathematical biology. This fall, interested high school students will meet weekly on campus to begin training with Hiebeler and his undergraduate students, and later become directly involved in SPEED Lab research projects.
Teachers interested in having Hiebeler speak at their school should contact him at 581-3924. The free talks and student outreach are made possible by a $180,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.
For Hiebeler, whose current research centers on mathematical population ecology and epidemiology, such opportunities enriched his academic experience when he was a student.
“One research project opened the door to another research project,” Hiebeler said. “It can only snowball. At least that’s my hope.”
For more information about the SPEED Lab, visit http://www.math.umaine.edu/faculty/hiebeler/speedlab.