The R. Kent Nagle Lecture Series
Spring 1999
Distinguished scholars speak to the general public
on mathematics in our world.
About the Lectures
The Nagle Lecture Series was established in honor of the late R.
Kent Nagle, a mathematician deeply interested not only in mathematics in itself,
but also in mathematics education and the impact of mathematics on society. In this
spirit, the NLS has invited world-reknown scholars to speak on such matters in lectures
designed for the general public.
Simon A. Levin, January 21, 1999
Time: Thursday evening, January 21, 7:30--8:30 p.m.
Place: Cooper Hall, Room 103 (CPR 103), at USF Tampa, just
west of Maple near Elm,
south of
the Education Building
Contact: USF Department of Mathematics, Phone (813) 974-2643; FAX
(813) 974-2700
The Rise and Fall of Biodiversity
The world's biodiversity is in crisis and, consequently, many of nature's services
to humans are endangered. Understanding how to protect biodiversity requires understanding
of how it arose and how it is maintained. The biosphere is a complex, adaptive system
which has self-organized through the collective activities of many players---plants,
animals and microbes. The dynamics of the Global Commons emerges from the selfish
actions of individuals and the enlightened self-interest that results in altruism,
coalitions and communities. The lecture will explore these features and lessons
to be learned for achieving a sustainable future.
Biography
Simon A. Levin is currently the George M. Moffett Professor of Biology and was the
Founding Director of the Princeton Environmental Institute at Princeton University.
Previously, while based at Cornell University, he was the Charles A. Alexander Professor
of Biological Sciences, Chairman of the Section of Ecology and Systematics, Director
of the Ecosystems Research Center and Director of the Center for Environmental Research.
He has served as President of the Society for Mathematical Biology and the Ecological
Society of America. On the national level, he served on the Department of Energy's
Health and Environmental Research Advisory Committee and on the Oversight Review
Board for the National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program.
Among his other honors, he has been a Guggenheim Fellow and a Visiting Fellow at
All Souls College at the University of Oxford. He is currently a Fellow of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science. He was the Founding Editor of Ecological Applications and serves
on numerous other editorial boards.
The Organizing Committee of the NLS consists of Ed Saff (Chair), Ken Pothoven, Ralph
Oberste-Vorth, Mourad Ismail, and Greg McColm.