EEES 145 Practicum in Combining Theories, Models and Data in Research
In science, models are the link between theories and data. Models can be of infinitely variable form (verbal, graphical or mathematical; process-based or empirical; deterministic or stochastic, etc.) and can function in myriad different ways (describing a theory, deriving predictions to test a theory, predicting the empirical outcomes of alternative management scenarios, etc.). Effective scientists are continually absorbing, conceiving, sorting, discarding and refining models. All scientists are modelers, but many of us mainly do it unconsciously, and almost all of us would be better scientists if we were better modelers. This course will be a workshop in combining theories, models and data in research. The course structure will include a mix of short lectures, analytical exercises, small work groups, structured discussion and unstructured time for all of us to work on an interesting modeling problem from our own work. The course will culminate in the last meeting with presentations by each participant of their modeling projects. Offered in alternate years.
Instructor
Ayres
Cross Listed Courses
BIOL-145