KNOXVILLE — As the final installment of the Science Forum, Suzanne Lenhart, professor of mathematics at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, will explain how mathematical theory can be applied to both improve CPR and slow the spread of rabies in raccoons.
Her talk — “The Power of Optimal Control: From Confining Rabies to Improving CPR”– will begin at noon on Friday, April 30, in Thompson-Boling Arena Dining Room C-D. The program is free and open to the public; attendees are welcome to bring their lunches or purchase lunch at the Café at the Arena.
The UT Science Forum is a weekly event where leading science researchers share their discoveries and discuss the frontiers of their fields in a way that the general public can understand. The UT Science Forum is sponsored by the UT Office of Research.
Lenhart will talk about “optimal control theory” and how it can be used to make decisions in these applications.
“The goal is to design external chest and abdomen pressure patterns to improve the blood flow in the heart in standard CPR procedure,” Lenhart said. “The second example is an epidemic model for rabies in raccoons on a spatial grid. The goal is to find the optimal distribution pattern for vaccine baits to slow the spread of the disease.”
For questions about the UT Science Forum, contact Mark Littmann, littmann@utk.edu or 974-8156, or Mike Clark, clarkgmorph@utk.edu or 974-6006.
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C O N T A C T :
Bridget Hardy (865-974-2225, bhardy4@utk.edu)