This program of tutorials and workshops run at the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications, University of Minnesota, began in September with two days of tutorials on ``Mathematical and Computational Issues in Pattern Formation'' given to IMA postdocs and visitors by Hans Othmer and Philip Maini. The aim of the tutorials was to prepare people for the upcoming pattern formation workshops. They introduced problems in the area of pattern formation, then focussed on the mathematical derivation and application of two model systems -- Turing reaction-diffusion models, and chemotaxis models.
The first workshop was entitled ``Pattern Formation and Morphogenesis: The Basic Process'' and brought together leading theoreticians from the mathematical and biological communities. There were several talks on modelling different aspects of single cell motion and on the derivation of model equations at a macroscopic cell population level from consideration of cell-cell and cell-chemical interactions at the local, microscopic level. The principal speakers were Alex Mogilner, Micah Dembo, Dean Bottino, Robert Tranquillo, Roseanne Ford, Angela Stevens, Wei-Ming Ni, Michel Rascle, Kees Weijer, Thomas Hoefer, Jonathan Sherratt and Nick Monk.
The second workshop was entitled ``Pattern Formation and Morphogenesis: Model Systems'' and emphasized the modelling of complicated biological systems, the analysis of the resulting model equations, and the interpretation and modification of models in the light of experimental data. Applications included, pattern formation in Hydra, pigmentation patterning in fish, chemical Turing structures, vegetation patterns, bacterial patterns and spiral waves and streaming in slime mold, segmentation determination in Drosphila and also in the vertebrate, signal traduction and motor control in bacterial chemotaxis, skeletal patterning in the outgrowing limb bud, primitive streak formation and regression, and tumour angiogenesis. The principal speakers were Hans Meinhardt, Kevin Painter, David Wollkind, Rene Lefever, Eshel Ben-Jacob, John Dallon, Herbert Levine, David Sharp, Hans Othmer, Paul Kulesa, Robert Dillon, Philip Maini, Eirikur Palsson and Howard Levine.
During the two workshops several posters were also presented.
A refereed proceedings volume of papers written by invited authors will be published by Springer.
Other workshops taking place during the year include, ``Immune System Modeling and Cell Signaling'', ``Dynamics and Control of AIDS'', ``Cell Adhesion and Motility'', ``Computational Modeling in Biological Fluid Dynamics'', ``Membrane Transport and Renal Physiology'', ``Endocrinology: Mechanism of Hormone Secretion and Control'', ``Audition'', ``Local Interaction and Global Phenomena in Vegetation and Other Systems'', ``Mathematical Approaches for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases'', and ``From Individual to Aggregation: Modeling Animal Grouping''. There will also be a number of tutorials, and a special minisymposium on cancer. Full details may be found on the program's website
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