Dr. Christopher Strickland
I am an applied mathematician and Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with an adjunct appointment in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. I lead a research group that builds behavior-driven mathematical and computational models of collectives and individuals — spanning the dynamics of animal movement and aggregation in complex environments, the social and policy dynamics of disease and substance-use outbreaks in human populations, and the broader question of how individual behavior shapes population-scale phenomena.
My work combines mechanistic modeling, large-scale simulation, and careful mathematical analysis in close collaboration with ecologists, applied mathematicians, and quantitative scientists from related disciplines. I'm at my best leading and working with interdisciplinary teams — framing the right questions, translating between fields, and turning the complex specifics of a real-world problem into models that are rigorous, grounded in underlying science, and genuinely useful in application.
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Mathematical Modeling & Analysis
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Mechanistic modeling of behavioral and biological systems
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Dynamical systems: deterministic and stochastic ODEs, PDEs, and agent-based models
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Probabilistic modeling, Bayesian inference, and model selection
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Optimal control and sensitivity analysis
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Multiscale and network-based approaches to social and ecological interaction
Scientific Computing in Python
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Large-scale simulation and parameter exploration
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Open-source scientific software development (Planktos)
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Data visualization, analysis, and reproducible workflow design
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Efficient and parallel simulation on multi-core systems
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Graduate-level instruction in Python for the quantitative sciences
Research Leadership
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Principal Investigator of an active, interdisciplinary research lab
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Federal grant acquisition and management, e.g. NSF
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Mentoring of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers
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Cross-sector collaboration with national laboratories, federal agencies, and academic partners
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Peer-reviewed publications across mathematics, biology, and public health
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
In collaboration with Oak Ridge National Lab and the VA, we have developed and mathematically analyzed population-level and individual-based models of the opioid epidemic in the context of time-series data. Our models have helped to quantitatively explain the epidemic's dynamics at the community level as they have changed over time, and have provided a framework for evaluating intervention strategies.
Introducing Planktos, the open-source, agent-based modeling Python library targeted at 2D and 3D multiscale collective behavior simulation in fluid environments around immersed structures. Planktos enables scientific exploration and hypothesis testing on predator-prey and symbiosis relationships in critical ecosystems such as coral reefs and agricultural fields.
Our research focuses on individual and collective behavior across a wide range of environments, applications, and scenarios. This example of a three-zone model was created by graduate student Margie Knight within Planktos.
UPCOMING EVENTS
