This web page serves to distribute results and tools developed from the research under a federal grant*. The grant provides funds for student and faculty research in nonlinear studies, both biological and computer-based. The primary research has been in the field of epidemiology. We at Reed have concentrated on supercomputer aspects of nonlinear studies, carrying out some computations that require upwards of 10^16 CPU operations.
The student researchers are divided into two teams: one with a computational approach, developing software simulations of epidemic scenarios, and one researching from a biological perspective.
The biology team has been studying diseases such as HIV, anthrax, smallpox, and avian influenza. They have prepared research papers on the social and technical immunological aspects of these diseases.
The computational team has constructed combinatorial models of epidemics, with a particular focus on an original theory of the fractal character of survivor sets. The team has written software to pursue these models and a paper on the results of this research and the implication of fractal characteristics on vaccination strategy.
We at Reed College are pleased to acknowledge the support and expertise of the Oregon Bioterror Task Force and the Multnomah County (Oregon) Public Health Department. This entire project would have been impossible without such collegial attention.