An Invitation to Mathematical Biology

這本教科書旨在提供一個「不具威脅性」的入門方式，讓讀者進入數學生物學的領域。它對於希望教授入門課程的人士也非常有用。儘管市面上有許多優秀的數學生物學書籍，但大多數書籍在數學上對於大多數生物學專業的學生來說過於進階。與本科數學專業的學生不同，大多數生物學專業的學生數學背景有限。考慮到計算生物學是一個快速擴展的領域，應該鼓勵更多學生熟悉這種強大的方法，以理解複雜的生物現象。最終，我們這本本科教科書的目標是以不會過度嚇到生物學專業本科生的方式，介紹數學生物學這一跨學科領域，從而增進對數學在生物學中角色的更大認識。

David G Costa is a mathematician interested in Partial Differential Equations (PDEs), Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs) and the Calculus of Variations. In particular, he is interested in the use of so-called variational and topological techniques to study qualitatively and visualization of phenomena in PDEs and ODEs. Such phenomena are present in various areas of sciences, including physics, biology, and chemistry, among others. He teaches a variety of courses at the undergraduate level (including Calculus, Linear Algebra, ODEs, PDEs, and Introductory Real Analysis), and graduate level (including PDEs, and Real Analysis), as well as a course in Biomathematics jointly offered by the Department of Mathematical Sciences and School of Life Sciences.
Paul J Schulte is a plant physiologist interested in biophysical approaches to studying internal processes in plants. These commonly involve applications of mathematical approaches asrealized through computational solutions. Plants are dependent on water for survival and their ability to acquire water from the soil and transport it throughout the plant is determined in part by the hydraulic properties of the plant's tissues. Most of his work considers transport processes such as water flow in the xylem tissues or sugar flow in the phloem tissues. He teaches a variety of courses such as Plant Physiology, Plant Anatomy, Introduction to Biological Modeling, and Biomathematics jointly offered in the School of Life Sciences and Department of Mathematical Sciences.

David G Costa 是一位數學家，專注於偏微分方程（Partial Differential Equations, PDEs）、常微分方程（Ordinary Differential Equations, ODEs）以及變分法（Calculus of Variations）。特別地，他對於使用所謂的變分和拓撲技術來定性研究和可視化 PDEs 和 ODEs 中的現象感興趣。這些現象存在於各種科學領域，包括物理學、生物學和化學等。他在本科階段教授多種課程（包括微積分、線性代數、ODEs、PDEs 和初級實分析），以及研究生階段的課程（包括 PDEs 和實分析），還共同教授由數學科學系和生命科學學院提供的生物數學課程。

Paul J Schulte 是一位植物生理學家，專注於生物物理方法來研究植物內部過程。這些通常涉及通過計算解決方案實現的數學方法應用。植物依賴水分生存，從土壤中獲取水分並在植物內部運輸的能力部分取決於植物組織的水力特性。他的大部分工作考慮了運輸過程，例如木質部組織中的水流或韌皮部組織中的糖流。他教授多種課程，如植物生理學、植物解剖學、生物建模導論，以及在生命科學學院和數學科學系共同提供的生物數學課程。