Joe Parsons

Noted mathematician Mary Lou Zeeman will deliver UNC Asheville's seventh annual Parsons Lecture at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 10, in UNC Asheville's Lipinsky Auditorium. Zeeman's talk on "Mathematical Modeling in Biology: What Is It?" is free and open to the public.

In her talk, Zeeman will describe some of the ways that math can be harnessed to explore biological mysteries. She will discuss a host of topics, including what happens when three species compete for the same resources, the best way to preserve a species and why diseases come in cycles.

Zeeman is the R. Wells Johnson Professor of Mathematics at Bowdoin College in Maine and a visiting professor in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at Cornell University. Her research focuses on geometric dynamical systems, mathematical biology, population dynamics, neuroendocrinology and hormone oscillations, and hypothalamus-pituitary interactions. Zeeman holds bachelor's and master's degrees in mathematics from Oxford University and a doctorate from University of California, Berkley.

Each year, UNC Asheville’s Parsons’ Lecture showcases well-known mathematicians who are able to explain their field of study to a general audience. The lecture is made possible by an endowment from an alumnus in honor of UNC Asheville Professor Emeritus Joe Parsons, who served in the Mathematics Department from 1952 to 1980.

For more information, call UNC Asheville's Mathematics Department at 828/251-6556.