What kind of math do biologists use

There some myths that have to be exploded. Life sciences faculty members argue that any discarded calculus topics have been replaced by more relevant math. The math chair said he also questioned having the life sciences faculty teaching math. Joseph Rudnick, dean of physical sciences at UCLA, said he deferred largely to the individual departments involved.

At the University of California at Berkeley, meanwhile, a similar transition went more easily -- perhaps due in large part to the involvement of Lior Pachter, a computational biologist with joint faculty appointments in math and molecular and cell biology, as well as engineering. Some students are now enrolled in the new sequence, which combines calculus, statistics and combinatorics. Change is coming, however, he said. But how many demands are too many?

Ronald Graham, the Irwin and Joan Jacobs Professor in the department of computer science and engineering at the University of California at San Diego and past president of the American Mathematical Society, said departments across the country are facing requests from the life sciences and disciplines such as engineering and economics to specialize their offerings.

Lee L. He said he'd been in similar cross-disciplinary conversations going back decades, when he was a faculty member. And the modern biologist requires more mathematics than the average Chemist needed until later in the 20th century. Please note: Comment moderation is enabled and may delay your comment. There is no need to resubmit your comment. Biologists use math in a variety of ways, from designing experiments to mapping complex biological systems. Further study in mathematics could lead to a math minor, which is available to students in all colleges.

MATH combined with two other upper-level math courses, one in algebra and one in analysis, would result in a math minor, for example. Overview A biologist or medical professional must be able to think mathematically analyze graphs, interpret quantitative information, use clear logical patterns.

Formal Requirements for the Biological Sciences Major Biological sciences majors are required to take one semester of calculus plus a second math or statistics course. A master's degree is sufficient for some jobs in applied research, product development, management, or inspection; it also may qualify one to work as a research technician or a teacher. In addition to required courses in chemistry and biology, undergraduate biological science majors usually study allied disciplines such as mathematics, physics, engineering, and computer science.

Biologists also use software with a lot of underlying mathematics.