Education and Outreach
NIMBioS Education and Outreach program offers a diverse array of activities to meet the educational needs for learners of all ages including K-12 students and teachers, university and college student and faculty, professional industry audiences, and the general public. NIMBioS initiatives focus on the enhancement of education at the interface between mathematics and biology and promote cross-disciplinary approaches to science at all levels.
Thirteen undergraduates, three veterinary students and two high school teachers from 16 different institutions across the United States recently completed the 2010 summer Research Experience for Undergraduates and Research Experience for Veterinary Students.
Click here to read
what the participants had to say about their experience.
Activities at the interface of mathematics and biology are geared toward elementary, middle, and high school students and teachers.
Programs for college students provide opportunities for conducting and presenting research. NIMBioS also sponsors faculty workshops.
NIMBioS partners with several groups, including the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, to offer training and research experiences.
Dr. Suzanne Lenhart
Associate Director of Education, Outreach, and Diversity
Email: lenhart@math.utk.edu
Ph: (865) 974-4270 Fax: (865) 974-9461
National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis
University of Tennessee
1534 White Avenue
Knoxville, TN 37996-1527
Additional educational resources
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Ecology Education Webinar
This interactive webinar to be held Sept. 8, 2010, focuses on math and computational education for ecology undergrads and illustrates how a large field dataset can be used to motivate hypothesis formulation and assessment by undergraduates. The webinar emphasizes how the data and analysis involved a multiplicity of concepts of biodiversity, the variety of questions raised by the students and the constraints on addressing them using the available data. The webinar is organized by NIMBioS and the Ecological Society of America as one of several events prior to ESA's Ecology and Education Summit to be held Oct. 14-15, 2010, in Washington. For more information about the webinar click here.
Requests for NIMBioS Support
September 1, 2010 is the deadline for requests for NIMBioS support for Working Groups, Investigative Workshops, Postdoctoral Fellows and Sabbatical Fellows for activities beginning in early 2011. Applications for Short-term Visits are considered four times a year, with deadlines on March 1, June 1, September 1, and December 1. All areas of research at the interface of biology and mathematics will be considered, but we are especially interested in activities expanding beyond the areas of research supported to date. Potential organizers of activities in areas of molecular biology, cell biology, network biology, immunology and systems biology are particularly encouraged to submit requests for support of Working Groups or Investigative Workshops.
Undergraduate Research Conference
The second annual undergraduate research conference at the interface of mathematics and biology to be held Nov. 19-20, 2010, at the Univ. of Tennessee Conference Center provides opportunities for undergraduates to present their research at the interface of biology and mathematics. Student talks and posters will be featured as well as a plenary speaker. Application deadline to request funding for the conference is Oct. 1, 2010. For more information about the conference and details about the funding request, click here.
Investigative Workshop: Solid Tumor Modeling
NIMBioS is now accepting applications for the NIMBioS Investigative Workshop: Solid Tumor Modeling to be held January 19-21, 2011, at NIMBioS. Current achievements and challenges in modeling solid tumors in the human body will be discussed, and areas that could improve our understanding of tumor development and treatment will be identified. Application deadline: October 15. For more information about the workshop and how to apply, click here.
Teacher Collaboration Program
NIMBioS is now accepting applications from math and biology/science teachers for The Teacher Collaboration Program, which provides links between teachers, scientists, and educators with an interest in making connections between mathematics and biology. NIMBioS will pair teachers with an interest in mathematics and biology with active researchers in the math biology community. For more information about the program and how to apply click here.
Investigative Workshop: Synchrony in Biological Systems Across Scales
Synchronous oscillatory activity is a universal phenomenon that occurs in biological systems ranging from the level of intracellular dynamics to population dynamics across thousands of kilometers. This workshop will bring together a diverse group of researchers to explore how ideas about the study of synchrony in one field can provide novel insights into questions of synchrony in another field and to identify gaps in the theory of synchrony from a biological perspective and possible avenues of progress. NIMBioS is now accepting applications for the NIMBioS Investigative Workshop: Synchronous Activity in Biological Systems to be held April 11-13, 2011, at NIMBioS. Application deadline: January 15, 2011. For more information about the workshop and how to apply, click here.
Investigative Workshop: Mathematical Models of Metabolism and Body Weight Regulation
With more than two-thirds of adults considered overweight and more than one-third categorized as obese, understanding the mechanisms behind weight gain, loss and maintenance is a major national goal. Mathematical modeling of the metabolism and body weight regulation is an important and growing subfield of obesity research. NIMBioS is now accepting applications for the NIMBioS Investigative Workshop: Mathematical Models of Metabolism and Body Weight Regulation to be held July 12-15, 2011, at NIMBioS. Application deadline: March 14, 2011. For more information about the workshop and how to apply, click here.
