Joy Zhou | Photo by Adam Atkinson
Research area: My research aims at developing and analyzing mathematical models to answer questions in population ecology. The type of mathematical models I work with are called dynamical systems. They are basically math equations that you would use to try to predict the “future” once you have information about a given time point (with errors of course, because you can’t exactly predict everything). These models are very helpful when you want to study hypothetical scenarios where you can change the parameters and see what happens. For example, I’ve developed models to study the population dynamics of a migratory animal, the impact of climate warming on the spatial distribution of a plant or animal population, and the effect of network structure in a stream network on a stream-dwelling population. These scenarios are always motivated by questions in ecology, but lots of math questions arise from these models, and we have lots of fun studying them!
My Lafayette journey: My first contact with Lafayette folks was at a math conference where I sat down to play some board games with a couple of students. They said they go to a liberal arts college called Lafayette. I had never been at a liberal arts college before, so I asked them about their experience. That was the first time I got to hear how people liked the school. At that time, I had no idea that I would end up interviewing here, and those two students would be in the audience at my job talk! Looking back, what I like most about Lafayette is the people. We have a vibrant community, and I’ve been blessed with great colleagues and students along my journey. I am especially impressed with how Lafayette students seek to challenge themselves and devote themselves to causes they are passionate about. I feel incredibly lucky to be part of this community.
What I will be teaching in the fall: I’m teaching Calculus this fall, and I’m looking forward to it!
Read more about faculty members who have been promoted to associate professor with continuous tenure.
