Participant Testimonials

Jul 03 - Jul 08, 2011

First I would like to thank BIRS for the support to attend the workshop. The workshop is quite special for me. There are at least half of the speakers are biologists.They show us their biological viewpoints of Spatial Ecology.It help us mathematicians to construct different type of mathematical models. In the workshop I discussed with some people and learn that we have some overlaps in our work. It is good to know other's people work related to your work. Also I learn some progress made in the principal eigenvalues. Mathematicians and biologists think in different ways. I hope in the near future I shall have opportunity to collaborate with the biologists I met in the workshop.

S.B. Hsu Mathematics, National Tsing-Hua University

I have participated recently at the workshop Emerging Challenges at the Interface of Mathematics, Environmental Science and Spatial Eco. Although during my career I attended several conferences and workshops, this one was really unique among them. First of all, there were the most outstanding scientists in the field of theoretical spatial ecology I can think about. Second, the workshop organization was really excellent. The workshop brought together people from different fields (i.e., pde, game theory, real applications), that would otherwise probably never met. And I'm pretty sure that this diversity will lead to new results and publications. For example, as I'm working mostly on game theory, this workshop was a unique opportunity for me to learn how partial differential equations are used to solve a similar problem. Indeed, I started some new collaboration during the workshop. Overall, I have to say that my experience from this workshop is very positive, I started some new collaborations, and learnt things I would have never learnt otherwise. I thank B.I.R.S. for this unique opportunity.

Vlastimil Krivan Prof. Dr.
Theoretical Ecology, Biological Research Center

The participation in the BIRS workshop will likely foster some new collaborations, e.g., with Cressman and Krivan on the theory of ideal free distribution, and I hope to report papers in near future.

Yuan Lou Mathematics, Ohio State University

The workshop renewed my excitement about the research area. I met a number of people whose papers I had read, and I had the chance to talk to them directly. I have a number of new contacts that I would not have had otherwise. The group discussions were very stimulating, and their content will be a source of inspiration for the next while. The only reason that I did not get new research projects out of this meeting is that I already have too many projects going, and I deliberately decided not to start anything new. Otherwise, there would have been many opportunities.

Frithjof Lutscher Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Ottawa

I enjoyed the workshop very much and expect that it will result in a number of continuing collaborations. The place and the facilities are incredibly nice!

Otso Ovaskainen Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki

This workshop was one of the most stimulating meetings I have attended in years. Aside from learning about many new research directions, I received valuable feedback on my own research project which will result in an improved forthcoming paper.

Hal Smith Professor
Mathematics & Statistics, Arizona State University

I indeed opened some collaborations with some participants in the field of spatial and evolutionary ecology modeling. I got quite a few interesting ideas and learned a lot from the workshop.

Hao Wang Assistant Professor
Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, University of Alberta