East Tennessee State University

Title: The Study of Intracellular Processes Using Graph Theory

Director(s): Debra Knisley

Email: knisleyd@mail.etsu.edu

Dates of Program: July 5 - August 12, 2005

Summary: In this workshop, we will focus on the timely topic of applications of mathematics in molecular biology. We will concentrate on graph-theoretic applications that are both accessible to the beginning student and provide advance topics for the more mature undergraduate. Two sample projects are listed below: DNA Graphs:

In this project, we investigate the properties and characteristics of DNA graphs. In particular, we will determine various graphical invariants for this class of graphs based on the parameters of sequence length and alphabet size.

Modeling Protein Structures with Simple Graphs In this project, we model a small family of proteins with simple graphs. We will investigate various representations and their respective graphical invariants in order to aid in the characterization of this family of proteins.

For more information, visit Prof. Knisley's home page at http://www.etsu.edu/math/dknisley.htm

Student Researchers:

Program Contacts:

Bill Hawkins
MAA SUMMA
bhawkins@maa.org
202-319-8473

Michael Pearson
MAA Programs & Services
pearson@maa.org
202-319-8470