Mathematical Modeling in the Environment

In the Spring of 2001, I used this book to teach a new course on mathematical modeling of environmental issues. I found this book to be a fascinating reading and wished to share it with students. The book's approach to environmental problems, and to their mathematical modeling, and the pedagogical suggestions given in the accompanying Instructor Manual, provided me with an excellent source for setting up an unusual and very successful mathematics course.The book presents an in-depth introduction to several environmental issues of contemporary relevance, such as grounwater contamination, air pollution,and hazardous material handling.The students are exposed to most interdisciplinary aspects of the problems encountered. These aspects include social and ethical considerations,business, law and political implications, and the scientific side represented by chemistry, physics, geology and mathematics.Mathematical models are introduced as the natural machinery necessary for finding solutions to the quantitative aspects of the environmental problems. As such, even sophisticated models of air pollution, are accepted by students, with very little mathematical background,with a high degree of competence and enjoyment.Just as naturally, computers are being used to understand the implications of the mathematical modeling. That is, computers are used to carry out heavy computations and graph data (MS EXCEL), and to analyze case scenarios' danger zones in case of hazardous materials accidents. The later uses a risk analysis program which comes with the book, ARCHIE. ARCHIE is an interactive, user friendly DOS program which runs nicely once it is properly installed. It is a little tricky "fooling" the Windows environment into installing and running ARCHIE. I e-mailed Charles Hadlock, and he was very helpful talking me and the people at the Computer Lab through the installation.The course requires a substantial amount of preparation to set it up initially, but this is to be expected for a course of such substantial interdisciplinary richeness.The instructor needs to become familiar with new software, read a little about environmental issues in an environmental science book, surf the Internet for relevant sites, and think how to teach the unfamiliar non-mathematical aspects of the course. All this work more them pays off in terms of what you end up offering the students, and their enthusiastic response. I am using this book again this semester. It is much easier and the students are just as enthusistic.If you want to set up a course where mathematics is involved in solving some of the world's major problems in a natural and interesting way, I highly recommend that you use this book.Sarah Glaz, Professor of Mathematics, University of Connecticut.