University of Miami
Department of Mathematics
Mathematical Ecologist and Distinguished Professor Emeritus
Department of Environmental Science and Policy
University of California, Davis
Member of the National Academy of Sciences
Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences
2006 Robert H. McArthur Award from the Ecological Society of America
will present
Spatial Ecological Dynamics:
Insights from Statistical Physics
Thursday, April 14, 2022, 5:30pm
Lakeside Village Auditorium, 1280 Stanford Drive
Reception to follow the lecture
All interested persons are welcome to attend.
Abstract: An appealing aspect of statistical physics models is the concept of universality, where classes of models have similar behavior. Spurrred in part by an intriguing data set on individual yield of over 4000 trees in a pistachio orchard over 6 years where trees tend to mast and alternate high and low years, we have been applying ideas from statistical physics toward investigating spatial synchrony in cycling ecological systems. I will cover the specific system we have been looking at, present the necessary background about the statistical physics ideas, and discuss ongoing work and questions we are considering now. This is joint work with Jon Machta, Andrew Noble, Karen Abbott, Shadi Esmaeili and Vahini Reddy Nareddy.
Alan Hastings is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of California at Davis. He received his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from Cornell in 1977 under the direction of Simon Levin. After two years at Washington State University, he joined the Department of Mathematics at U.C. Davis in 1979 and the Department of Environmental Science and Policy in 1983. He became Professor of Mathematics and Environmental Science and Policy in 1985. From 1992 to 1998 he served as Chair of Environmental Science and Policy, and was named Distinguished Professor of Environmental Science and Policy in 2003.
Hastings's research interests lie in a range of topics in theoretical ecology and population biology, and more generally in mathematical biology. Current research focuses on invasive species, marine ecology and fisheries, transient dynamics in ecology, spatial ecology and experiments with Tribolium. With over 333 articles, 37,000 Google Scholar citations and an h-index of 93, he is one of the most influential and cited theoretical ecologists in the world.
Hastings is the 2006 recipient of the Robert H. MacArthur Award from the Ecological Society of America. He was elected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2005, the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2005, the Ecological Society of America in 2012, and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics in 2013. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2015.
The McKnight-Zame Distinguished Lecture Series is made possible by a generous donation from Dr. Jeffry Fuqua (Ph.D., UM, 1972). These annual lectures are named in honor of Professor James McKnight, who directed Dr. Fuqua's Ph.D. thesis, and Professor Alan Zame, who was a close mentor of Dr. Fuqua.
Related Event: Professor Hastings will be giving a Mathematics Colloquium on Friday, April 15.
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