2008 Meeting Program

Cardiac Mathematics
Dr. Charles S. Peskin, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University

Abstract: There are many different aspects of cardiac function that can be expressed in mathematical terms.  This talk will touch on some of them: the fetal heart and circulation, and the cardiovascular changes that occur suddenly at birth; the fiber architecture of the heart and its valves; the fluid mechanics of blood in the cardiac chambers; and the electrical activity of the heart.  Mathematical methods will range from high school algebra to partial differential equations with some differential geometry along the way.  Numerical methods will play an important role, and computer generated animations of the beating heart will be shown.

Speaker Biography: Charles S. Peskin was born on April 15, 1946, in New York City.  He studied Engineering at Harvard (A.B., 1968), and Physiology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (Ph.D., 1972).  In 1973, he joined the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, where he is now a Silver Professor, Professor of Mathematics, and Professor of Neural Science.  He is also currently an A.D. White Professor-at-Large of Cornell University.

Peskin's honors include a MacArthur Fellowship (1983-1988), the Mayor's Award for Excellence in Science and Technology (NYC, 1994), and the George David Birkhoff Prize in Applied Mathematics (AMS/SIAM, 2003).  He is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (1992), of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1994), and of the New York Academy of Sciences (1998); and a Member of the National Academy of Sciences (1995) and of the Institute of Medicine (2000).

Peskin's field of research is the application of mathematics and computing to medicine and biology, particularly in the areas of heart physiology, neural science, and biomolecular motors.  He is especially known for the immersed boundary method, a general computational framework for fluid-structure interaction.

Bright Lights on the Horizon
Dr. Deanna Haunsperger, Carleton College

Abstract: What do a square-wheeled bicycle, a 17th-century French painting, and the Indiana legislature all have in common?  They appear among the many bright stars on the horizon of mathematics, or perhaps, more correctly, in  Math Horizons.  Math Horizons, the undergraduate magazine started by the MAA in 1994, publishes articles to introduce students to the world of mathematics outside the classroom. Some of mathematics’ best expositors have written for MH over the years; this presentation will explore some of the highlights from the first ten years of Horizons.

Speaker Biography: Dr. Deanna Haunsperger is a professor of mathematics at Carleton College in Minnesota. Since her own undergraduate days at a small liberal arts college in Iowa, Deanna has been interested in increasing the number of students who pursue advanced degrees in mathematics. That passion has guided her as a former co-editor for Math Horizons (the Mathematical Association of America’s magazine for undergraduates) and as co-founder and co-director of Carleton's Summer Mathematics Program for Women (a successful, intensive four-week summer program to encourage talented undergraduate women to pursue advanced degrees in the mathematical sciences). Most recently she served as the Second Vice President of the MAA and chaired the MAA’s Strategic Planning Committee on Students. Deanna is married to fellow mathematician Steve Kennedy, and together they have two children.

Contributed papers: schedule and abstracts