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SEBS FALL 2023 Honors Seminars

Here is the seminar option offered by SEBS for Fall 2023 :

Thursdays; 2:00 – 5:00 pm
11:776:296
Index: 13035
 

 “Women and Science”
Joan Bennett, Professor
Plant Biology, with
Catherine Read, Plant Biology

There have always been women in science, engineering, medicine, and mathematics, just not very many of them. The course introduces individual women who were exceptions in their time. We will also cover the contexts and unique cultures of the different sciences, including a discussion of the practical challenges women face in these disciplines. Students will be exposed to feminist epistemology and will learn to examine some of the intellectual and social barriers that women confront in studying and practicing science.


Mon & Wed. 2:00-3:20
11:216:296 Section 02
Index: 19774
“Nature Plays Games: Game
Theory in the Environmental
and Biological Sciences ”
Juan Bonachela, Associate
Professor, DEENR

From socio-ecological systems to evolution, many processes in nature can be characterized as a strategic interaction between players that try to gain something from such interaction. When that happens, the outcome can be predicted by the formalism of Game Theory. This course will introduce the main concepts related to Game Theory, using to that end classic examples and cutting-edge research relevant to the environmental and biological sciences. We will explore key concepts such as the Tragedy of the Commons through classic games such as the Prisoner's dilemma or the hawks vs doves game. We will play each of these games and use theory to understand and predict their outcome. We will pay special attention to how to identify games, and therefore be able to apply the Game Theory formalism, in contexts such as evolutionary biology...or your everyday life."