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The disciplines of ecology and engineering, though joined conceptually through concerns about the environment, remain mostly unconnected in the research literature. On the one side, sophisticated mathematical models and computer simulations now enable ecologists to study ecosystem dynamics, including biogeochemical cycles and the population dynamics of plant and animal communities. On the other side, engineers and atmospheric scientists are capable of modeling atmospheric dynamics and the man-made processes that affect the environment through the consumption and release of material and energy. The importance of connecting the two sides is obvious. Recent conference publications emphasize this point and report on important contributions toward meeting the challenge.
The early stages of our research will have the short-term goal of formulating a set of study models, that is, mathematical models of manageable dimension that incorporate the most important interactions and processes, so that general insights may be gained, but simplified to avoid excessive detail. The models will vary in form and scope, but overall they will include, within their structure, coupled submodels of ecosystem dynamics, of the environment, and of industrial processes. Methods of nonlinear analysis and computer simulations will be employed to describe and study various scenarios, and in some cases, to make comparisons with empirical data. Since information necessary for accurate quantitative work is lacking for the most part, we will find it necessary in most instances to create hypothetical situations and illustrative scenarios.
We expect that this work will help link current research in ecology to that in environmental engineering. Further, it should 1) improve our understanding of the need for ecological constraints and give guidance as to how such constraints might be established through mathematical models, and 2) provide a framework for advancing us toward an ultimate goal of formulating and working with more complicated, realistic, global models. Instructors can contact Professor Schmitz for this information.
