New Scientific Applications of Geometry and Topology (Proceedings of Symposia in Applied Mathematics, V. 45)

Geometry and topology are subjects generally considered to be "pure" mathematics. Recently, however, some of the methods and results in these two areas have found new utility in both wet-lab science (biology and chemistry) and theoretical physics. Conversely, science is influencing mathematics, from posing questions that call for the construction of mathematical models to exporting theoretical methods of attack on long-standing problems of mathematical interest. Based on an AMS Short Course held in January 1992, this book contains six introductory articles on these intriguing new connections. There are articles by a chemist and a biologist about mathematics, and four articles by mathematicians writing about science. All are expository and require no specific knowledge of the science and mathematics involved. Because this book communicates the excitement and utility of mathematics research at an elementary level, it is an excellent textbook in an advanced undergraduate mathematics course.