Event Details

Join the Dalhousie Department of Mathematics and Statistics for a public lecture at Dalhousie with Chad Topaz, professor of mathematics at Williams College in Massachusetts.

Schools of fish, flocks of birds, herds of mammals, and even colonies of bacteria all show behavior we call “swarming,” but these groups are difficult to understand biologically and mathematically. Dr. Topaz will give an overview of how social and biological interactions lead to swarming behavior. He will also discuss how mathematical modeling (describing the real world with mathematics) can be used to study locust swarms, which are the most massive and destructive swarms on Earth. Swarming is related to many phenomena of collective behavior in nature and society, where seemingly independent objects – like neurons, metronomes, and even people – start to act in the same way. This public lecture will be interactive and accessible; no technical knowledge is required.

Alumni from the Faculties of Science and Computer Science are invited to attend this public lecture.

RSVP

This lecture is free to attend. Please register online to reserve your seat.

If you have any questions, please contact Jocelyn Adams (Faculty of Science) at jocelyn.adams@dal.ca or Rebecca Rawcliffe (Faculty of Computer Science) at r.rawcliffe@dal.ca.

Register online