This book is a collection of articles written by some of the most prominent leading applied mathematicians, as well as articles from young and promising scientists from Africa, Asia and Europe. The common objective of these articles is to present an important issue which is currently widely discussed in scientific investigation with major human, economic or ecological implications. One main feature of the series, which the current book exemplifies, is that each article is as deep as an expert lecture but is also self-contained, so that even isolated scientists with limited resources can profit greatly from it. Another feature of this book is that each article is meant to present a collection of open questions which can fuel undergraduate or graduate research activities even in smaller or more isolated scientific communities.
Mathematical Modeling, Simulation, Visualization and e-Learning
Dialla Konaté Editor
Mathematical Modeling, Simulation, Visualization and e-Learning
Proceedings of an International Workshop held at Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Conference Center, Milan, Italy, 2006
ABC
Dialla Konaté Department of Mathematics Virginia Tech McBryde Hall #460 Blacksburg, VA 24060 USA
[email protected]
ISBN: 978-3-540-74338-5
e-ISBN: 978-3-540-74339-2
Library of Congress Control Number: 2007938161 Mathematics Subject Classification Numbers (2000): 34, 35, 41, 42, 47, 49, 65, 68, 70, 74, 76, 92, 97 c 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Violations are liable to prosecution under the German Copyright Law. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Cover design: WMX Design GmbH, Heidelberg Printed on acid-free paper 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 springer.com
Preface
The Bellagio International Conference on Mathematical Modeling, Simulation, Visualization and e-Learning was held from November 20 to November 26, 2006, with primary financial support from the Rockefeller Foundation. It also benefited from the financial and material support of Virginia Tech and Winston-Salem State University. Taken together mathematical modeling, simulation, and visualization have become a major tool in scientific investigation. They are also a growing interdisciplinary subject in collegiate curricula, and are expected to attract more students from underserved communities to science and technology because of their universality and because they provide a visual aspect to what is taught and learned, even in environments where physical implementation and experimentation may not be possible. The Bellagio Initiative, which was the underlying idea behind the Bellagio International Conference, consists in creating a forum where excellent mathematicians from underserved countries and communities and the world’s leading scientists can meet, work together and build networks in order to share scientific knowledge. This requires that all contributions presented in such a forum have a high scientific level and a self-contain