From Cholera to Complexity
to Society:
A Journey of Many Dimensions
Dr. Rita Colwell, Director
National Science Foundation
Fractal images: Martin Golubitsky, Univ. of Houston http://www.math.uh.edu/~chaos/
Cholera
Source: Dr. Rita Colwell
Cholera Statistics, 2000*
Continent
Africa
Total Cases
118,932
4,610
3,101
40
11,246
232
35
0
3,757
26
137,071
4,908
America(s)
Asia**
Europe
Oceania
Total
Total Deaths
*Data published in August, 2001
**Does not include Bangladesh, Pakistan and other countries.
Source: World Health Organization
Source: Dr. Rita Colwell
Global Spread of Cholera, 1961-1991
Source: CDC
Chesapeake Bay
Cholera Sampling Sites
Source: Dr. Rita Colwell
U.S. Geological Survey
Copepod
Source: Dr. Rita Colwell
Average log
(copepod) value
Number of Vibrio cholerae Associated with
Copepods Collected in Bangladesh, 1987-1992
(Detection by Fluorescent Monoclonal Antibody)
Source: Dr. Rita Colwell
Cholera Outbreaks and Increases in
Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and
Sea Surface Height (SSH)
B. Lobitz et al. “Climate and infectious disease” PNAS (February 2000, vol. 97, no.4)
Source: Dr. Rita Colwell
Ecosystem Change and Public Health:
A Global Perspective, Chapter by Mark L. Wilson, pg. 286 fig. 10.1
NEON
Natural History Collection
Federal Research Site
Field Station
Long Term Ecological
Research (LTER) Site
National Park
University
University
Research Facility
Nature
Conservancy
Preserve
USDA
Research Station
National Wildlife Refuge
Source: ASM/PBS 4 part series “Intimate Strangers”
New Types of Problems
●
●
●
Searching for rare events instead of
common patterns
Protecting systems from malicious
attacks instead of random failures
Combining data from many types of
sources
Challenges for Mathematics
Research in Homeland Security
● Data mining for rare events
● Computer, network, and physical
●
●
infrastucture security
Detection and epidemiology of
bioterrorist attacks
Voice and image recognition
Fingers extension
Wrist rotation
Source: J.B. Tenenbaum et al, http://isomap.stanford.edu/handfig.html
http://www.math.ucla.edu/~imagers/images/rec/lenna8.jpg
Sir Martin Rees, British Astronomer Royal
www.vampires-fr.com/ dracula.php3
Actor Christopher Lee as Count Dracula
http://www.u-net.com/ph/naw96/img/m_rees.jpg
How people are connected:
contrasting social networks
Fractal images: Martin Golubitsky, Univ. of Houston http://www.math.uh.edu/~chaos/