معرفی
Christopher Strickland is an Associate Professor in the Mathematics Department with an adjunct appointment in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His research bridges mathematical theory and ecological applications through interdisciplinary collaboration.
His primary research interests include mathematical ecology, with specific focus on modeling complex systems in ecology and substance use epidemiology (particularly opioids and alcohol). He utilizes diverse mathematical tools including mathematical modeling, dynamical systems, statistical inference, and scientific computing. His work brings mathematical methods to organismal ecology, especially in the context of behavior, dispersal, and social interaction. Specific research areas include addiction epidemiology, individual-based modeling of collective behavior (both on land and in fluid environments around immersed structures), and novel approaches in population ecology.
Dr. Strickland has developed Planktos, an open-source agent-based modeling software in Python designed for 2D and 3D fluid environments with immersed structures. This framework enables scientific exploration and quantification of collective and emergent behavior in fluid environments.
He collaborates extensively with Oak Ridge National Lab and the Veterans Administration to develop and mathematically analyze population-level and individual-based models of the opioid epidemic based on location-specific data. These models help predict epidemic trajectories for specific communities and quantify risk factors that inform patient treatment decisions.
Dr. Strickland is scheduled to present at the SIAM Activity Group on Dynamical Systems conference (DS25) in May 2025 in Denver, Colorado, reflecting his active engagement in the mathematical sciences community.
