{"id":348,"date":"2019-10-01T07:10:07","date_gmt":"2019-10-01T11:10:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/straub\/?page_id=348"},"modified":"2026-04-10T11:40:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T15:40:11","slug":"mathematical-methods-for-molecular-science","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/straub\/mathematical-methods-for-molecular-science\/","title":{"rendered":"<p hidden>Mathematical Methods for Molecular Science<\/p>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!--\n\n\n<h2><font size=\"2\" color=\"#800000\">Mathematical Methods for Molecular Science<font size=\"2\" color=\"black\"><\/h2>\n\n\n\nIt is widely acknowledged that the traditional calculus sequence required of most molecular science majors, consisting of a year of differential and integral calculus and possibly a semester of multivariate calculus, does not provide the mathematical background needed for success in the quantum mechanics and statistical thermodynamics courses that follow. <i>Mathematical Methods for Molecular Science<\/i> is designed to support a one semester course that builds on the introductory calculus sequence and covers critical topics in multivariate calculus, ordinary differential equations, partial differential equations, harmonic analysis, linear algebra, and group theory. The development and distribution of this text was supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation (CHE-1900416).\n\n\n\n<style type='text\/css'>\n\t\t\t#gallery-4 {<br \/>\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;<br \/>\t\t\t}<br \/>\t\t\t#gallery-4 .gallery-item {<br \/>\t\t\t\tfloat: left;<br \/>\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;<br \/>\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;<br \/>\t\t\t\twidth: 100%;<br \/>\t\t\t}<br \/>\t\t\t#gallery-4 .gallery-item span { position:absolute; left: -9999px; }<br \/>\t\t\t#gallery-4 .gallery-item:hover span { display: none; }<br \/>\t\t\t#gallery-4 img {<br \/>\t\t\t\tborder: 1px solid #cfcfcf;<br \/>\t\t\t}<br \/>\t\t\t#gallery-4 .gallery-caption {<br \/>\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;<br \/>\t\t\t}<br \/>\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/<br \/>\n\t<\/style>\n\n\n\n\n<style type='text\/css'>\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t\theight: 263px;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 50.0%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-item span { position:absolute; left: -9999px; }\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-item:hover span { display: none;}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 1px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\n\n\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n<!--\n .tab1 { margin-left: 15px; margin-top: -15px; margin-bottom: 0px;}\n-->\n<\/style>\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n<!--\n .tab2 {margin-top: -5px; margin-bottom: 15px;}\n-->\n<\/style>\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n<!--\n .tab3 {margin-top: -5px; margin-bottom: 0px;}\n-->\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"gallery-2\" class=\"gallery galleryid-25 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-thumbnail\">\n<dl class=\"gallery-item\">\n<dt class=\"gallery-icon portrait\">\n                             <a href=\"\/straub\/files\/2022\/06\/MathMoleCoverUSB.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"200\" height=\"263\" src=\"\/straub\/files\/2022\/06\/MathMoleCoverUSB.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail\" alt=\"Mathematical Methods for Molecular Science\" \/><\/a><\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<dl class=\"gallery-item\">\n<dt class=\"gallery-icon portrait\">\n                             <a href=\"\/straub\/files\/2022\/06\/MathMoleBackCoverUSB-scaled.jpg\" title=\"Mathematical Methods for Molecular Science\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"200\" height=\"263\" src=\"\/straub\/files\/2022\/06\/MathMoleBackCoverUSB-scaled.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail\" alt=\"Mathematical Methods for Molecular Science\" \/><\/a><\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<p><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<style type='text\/css'>\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t\theight: 110px;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 16.1%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item span { position:absolute; left: -9999px; }\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item:hover span { display: none;}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 1px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n<\/p>\n<pre><\/pre>\n<p>The first edition of this text was published by <a href=\"https:\/\/uscibooks.aip.org\/books\/mathematical-methods-for-molecular-science-theory-and-applications-visualizations-and-narrative\/\">University Science Books<\/a> in 2022. University Science Books was acquired by <a href=\"https:\/\/mitpress.mit.edu\/9781940380131\/mathematical-methods-for-molecular-science\/\">MIT Press<\/a> in 2025. A list of errata and revisions are <a href=\"https:\/\/people.bu.edu\/straub\/pdffiles\/\nMathematical-Methods-For-Molecular-Science-Errata-10.25.pdf\">available.<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<h2><font size=\"2\" color=\"#800000\">Supplement on Kinetic Models of Infectious Disease<font size=\"2\" color=\"black\"><\/h2>\n<p>A separate <i>Supplement on Kinetic Models of Infectious Disease<\/i> explores the application of linear differential equations used to model physical kinetics to the modeling and analysis of infectious disease epidemics.  The SIR and SEIR epidemiological models of the spread of infectious disease are developed and applied to a variety of epidemics including the influenza epidemic of 1918 and the coronavirus epidemic of 2019 (Covid-19).  The parameters of each model are varied to explore the impact of social distancing, reproduction number, and herd immunity on the course of an epidemic.  Exponential and power-law models of growth are contrasted and related to characteristics of the underlying network of social contacts. <\/p>\n<h3><font size=\"3\" color=\"black\">Download Supplement and Exercise Solutions<font size=\"3\" color=\"black\"><\/h3>\n<style type='text\/css'>\n\t\t\t#gallery-4 {<br \/>\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;<br \/>\t\t\t}<br \/>\t\t\t#gallery-4 .gallery-item {<br \/>\t\t\t\tfloat: left;<br \/>\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;<br \/>\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;<br \/>\t\t\t\twidth: 100%;<br \/>\t\t\t}<br \/>\t\t\t#gallery-4 .gallery-item span { position:absolute; left: -9999px; }<br \/>\t\t\t#gallery-4 .gallery-item:hover span { display: none; }<br \/>\t\t\t#gallery-4 img {<br \/>\t\t\t\tborder: 1px solid #cfcfcf;<br \/>\t\t\t}<br \/>\t\t\t#gallery-4 .gallery-caption {<br \/>\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;<br \/>\t\t\t}<br \/>\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/<br \/>\n\t<\/style>\n<style type='text\/css'>\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t\theight: 263px;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 50.0%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-item span { position:absolute; left: -9999px; }\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-item:hover span { display: none;}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 1px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n<!--\n .tab1 { margin-left: 15px; margin-top: -15px; margin-bottom: 0px;}\n-->\n<\/style>\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n<!--\n .tab2 {margin-top: -5px; margin-bottom: 15px;}\n-->\n<\/style>\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n<!--\n .tab3 {margin-top: -5px; margin-bottom: 0px;}\n-->\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"gallery-2\" class=\"gallery galleryid-25 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-thumbnail\">\n<dl class=\"gallery-item\">\n<dt class=\"gallery-icon portrait\">\n                             <a href=\"https:\/\/people.bu.edu\/straub\/pdffiles\/Mathematical-Methods-For-Molecular-Science-Epidemic-V2.0.pdf\" title=\"Supplement on Kinetic Models of Infectious Disease\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"200\" height=\"263\" src=\"\/straub\/files\/2020\/09\/Mathematical-Methods-For-Molecular-Science-Epidemic-V2.0-FACE-scaled.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail\" alt=\"Supplement on Kinetic Models of Infectious Disease\" \/><\/a><\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<dl class=\"gallery-item\">\n<dt class=\"gallery-icon portrait\">\n \t           <a href=\"https:\/\/people.bu.edu\/straub\/pdffiles\/Mathematical-Methods-For-Molecular-Science-Epidemic-Answers-V2.0.pdf\" title=\"Supplement on Infectious Disease Complete Answers\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"200\" height=\"263\" src=\"\/straub\/files\/2020\/09\/Mathematical-Methods-For-Molecular-Science-Epidemic-Answers-V2.0-FACE-scaled.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail\" alt=\"Supplement on Infectious Disease Complete Answers\" \/><\/a><\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<p><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<h2><font size=\"2\" color=\"#800000\">Mathematical Methods through Dance<font size=\"2\" color=\"black\"><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.evolvedynamicz.com\/\">Evolve Dynamicz<\/a> is a dance collective established by Lisa Costello and Nicole Zizzi with the hope of creating a repertoire to share their mutual passions for life and movement. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.evolvedynamicz.com\/math-methods\">Mathematical Methods<\/a> is a collaborative project with Evolve in which choreography is developed to provide a kinesthetic interpretation of the mathematical principles explored in <i>Mathematical Methods for Molecular Science<\/i>.  The project has led to a live performance of &#8220;Extrema&#8221; at NACHMO 2020 and the film &#8220;SIR Models of Infectious Disease.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3><font size=\"3\" color=\"black\">Download Event Brochures<font size=\"3\" color=\"black\"><\/h3>\n<style type='text\/css'>\n\t\t\t#gallery-4 {<br \/>\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;<br \/>\t\t\t}<br \/>\t\t\t#gallery-4 .gallery-item {<br \/>\t\t\t\tfloat: left;<br \/>\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;<br \/>\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;<br \/>\t\t\t\twidth: 100%;<br \/>\t\t\t}<br \/>\t\t\t#gallery-4 .gallery-item span { position:absolute; left: -9999px; }<br \/>\t\t\t#gallery-4 .gallery-item:hover span { display: none; }<br \/>\t\t\t#gallery-4 img {<br \/>\t\t\t\tborder: 1px solid #cfcfcf;<br \/>\t\t\t}<br \/>\t\t\t#gallery-4 .gallery-caption {<br \/>\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;<br \/>\t\t\t}<br \/>\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/<br \/>\n\t<\/style>\n<style type='text\/css'>\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t\theight: 263px;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 50.0%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-item span { position:absolute; left: -9999px; }\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-item:hover span { display: none;}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 1px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n<!--\n .tab1 { margin-left: 15px; margin-top: -15px; margin-bottom: 0px;}\n-->\n<\/style>\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n<!--\n .tab2 {margin-top: -5px; margin-bottom: 15px;}\n-->\n<\/style>\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n<!--\n .tab3 {margin-top: -5px; margin-bottom: 0px;}\n-->\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"gallery-2\" class=\"gallery galleryid-25 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-thumbnail\">\n<dl class=\"gallery-item\">\n<dt class=\"gallery-icon portrait\">\n                             <a href=\"https:\/\/people.bu.edu\/straub\/pdffiles\/Evolve-Dynamicz-Extrema-Brochure.pdf\" title=\"Evolve Dynamicz Extrema Brochure\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"200\" height=\"263\" src=\"\/straub\/files\/2020\/09\/Evolve-Dynamicz-Extrema-FACE-scaled.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail\" alt=\"Evolve Dynamicz Extrema Brochure\" \/><\/a><\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<dl class=\"gallery-item\">\n<dt class=\"gallery-icon portrait\"><a href=\"https:\/\/people.bu.edu\/straub\/pdffiles\/Evolve-Dynamicz-SIR-Model-Infectious-Disease-Brochure.pdf\" title=\"Evolve Dynamicz SIR Model Infectious Disease Brochure\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"200\" height=\"263\" src=\"\/straub\/files\/2020\/09\/Evolve-Dynamicz-SIR-Model-Infectious-Disease-FACE-scaled.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail\" alt=\"Evolve Dynamicz SIR Model Infectious Disease Brochure\" \/><\/a><\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<p><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1612,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":5,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/straub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/348"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/straub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/straub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/straub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1612"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/straub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=348"}],"version-history":[{"count":50,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/straub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/348\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1146,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/straub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/348\/revisions\/1146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/straub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}