Carlos Castillo-Chavez (born March 29, 1952) is a Mexican-American

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

. He held positions as a Regents Professor and the Joaquín Bustoz Jr. Professor of

Mathematical Biology Mathematical and theoretical biology, or biomathematics, is a branch of biology which employs theoretical analysis, mathematical models and abstractions of living organisms to investigate the principles that govern the structure, development ...

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

. Castillo-Chavez founded the Mathematical and Theoretical Biology Institute (MTBI) at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1996. His research and publications focus on mathematics, social structures, and epidemiology.

Biography

Carlos Castillo-Chavez was born on March 29, 1952, in Mexico. He immigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, in 1974, at age 22. He worked in a cheese factory in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

before continuing his studies. He attended the

University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point The University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point (UW–Stevens Point or UWSP) is a public university in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, United States. Established in 1894, it is part of the University of Wisconsin System. UW-Stevens Point grants associ ...

, graduating in 1976 with degrees in mathematics and Spanish literature. He earned a MS in Mathematics from the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a Public university, public Urban university, urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropo ...

. He earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

in 1984. Before joining

in 2004, he was a professor at

for 18 years. He has published scientific articles and books, and served on committees for organizations such as the

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

, the

Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) is a professional society dedicated to applied mathematics, computational science, and data science through research, publications, and community. SIAM is the world's largest scientific soci ...

, and the

American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...

. From 2016 to 2018, he served as rector of Yachay Tech University in

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

. As a mathematical

epidemiologist Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population, and application of this knowledge to prevent diseases. It is a cornerstone ...

researcher, his interests include the mechanisms underlying the spread of diseases and their containment, prevention, and elimination. In 2006,

described him as an expert in epidemiological modeling, and a contributor to the literature on the progression of diseases. Ronald Mickens and Carlos Castillo-Chavez at a banquet

Ronald Mickens and Carlos Castillo-Chavez at a banquet

According to a September 2020 update, his 52 PhD students included 21 women, 29 from U.S. underrepresented groups, and 7 from

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. He also mentored over 500 undergraduates, primarily through the Mathematical and Theoretical Biology Institute. He has been recognized for work aimed at enhancing academic success, and for providing research opportunities for underrepresented groups in mathematics and biology. According to the

Mathematics Genealogy Project The Mathematics Genealogy Project (MGP) is a web-based database for the academic genealogy of mathematicians.. it contained information on 300,152 mathematical scientists who contributed to research-level mathematics. For a typical mathematicia ...

, Castillo-Chavez is listed as one of the top doctoral advisors in mathematics, and is noted as the only Latino mathematician in their top 250 list. In 2020, he retired from Arizona State University, after resigning from his posts the previous year. An ASU investigation substantiated a graduate student report that he created a hostile environment and engaged in harassment, but the matter was closed without further action upon his retirement. According to reporting on the investigation, his "tough love" approach was cited by both supporters and detractors as a source of support and conflict, respectively. Castillo-Chavez founded the Applied Mathematics in the Life and Social Sciences BS and PhD programs (2008) at the Simon A. Levin Mathematical, Computational, and Modeling Sciences Center at

. Castillo-Chavez established the Mathematical and Theoretical Biology Institute (MTBI) at Cornell University in 1996. It moved to Arizona State University in the spring of 2004. From 1996 to 2004, MTBI received funding from Cornell University and

Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development Laboratory, laboratories of the United States Department of Energy National Laboratories, United States Department of Energy ...

(T-Division). The

, the

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the director of national intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and proces ...

, and Arizona State University have also provided partial funding. As of 2021-2022, it was renamed the Quantitative Research in the Life and Social Sciences Program (QRLSSP). Castillo-Chavez was also the director of the Institute for Strengthening and the Joaquin Bustoz Math-Science Honors Program (JBMSHP), a summer residential mathematics program for students interested in academic careers requiring mathematics, science, or engineering-based coursework, particularly those from underrepresented groups.

Research

Castillo-Chavez has co-authored over 560 publications and a dozen books, including textbooks, research

monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

s, and edited volumes. His research explores the intersection of the mathematical, natural, and social sciences, focusing on how dynamic social landscapes affect disease dispersal, evolution, and control, as well as the impact of environmental risk, social structures, and human behavior on disease dynamics, including addiction. He and his collaborators have introduced mathematical models for the spread of scientific concepts, ideas, or media-driven information, such as the

social contagion Social contagion involves behaviour, emotions, or conditions spreading spontaneously through a group or network. The phenomenon has been discussed by social scientists since the late 19th century, although much work on the subject was based on ...

effect in recurrent mass killings and school shootings. They have also studied the role of behavior and mobility in the dynamics of emergent and re-emergent diseases, including

Ebola Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after in ...

influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, and

Zika virus Zika virus (ZIKV; pronounced or ) is a member of the virus family ''Flaviviridae''. It is spread by daytime-active ''Aedes'' mosquitoes, such as '' A. aegypti'' and '' A. albopictus''. Its name comes from the Ziika Forest of Uganda, where ...

. His publications have also included models and frameworks for collaborative learning based on the activities of the ASU Mathematical and Theoretical Biology Institute.

Awards and recognition

His awards and recognition include: * Three White House Awards (1992, 1997, and 2011). His MTBI program received the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM). * The 12th American Mathematical Society Distinguished Public Service Award in 2010. * The 2007 Mentor Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). * The 17th recipient of the SIAM Prize for Distinguished Service to the Profession. * Member of the Board of Higher Education at the National Academy of Sciences (2009-2015) and served on President Barack Obama's Committee on the National Medal of Science (2010-2015). * Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics; Founding Fellow of the American Mathematical Society; and American College of Epidemiology. * Held honorary Professorships at Xi’an Jiatong University in China, the Universidad de Belgrano in Argentina, and East Tennessee State University. Past appointments include a Stanislaw M. Ulam Distinguished Scholar at Los Alamos National Laboratory, a Cátedra Patrimonial at UNAM in México, and a Martin Luther King Jr. Professorship at MIT. * On February 24, 2016, the University Francisco Gavidia inaugurated the Centro de Modelaje Matemático Carlos Castillo-Chavez in the City of San Salvador, El Salvador. * Served on NSF’s Advisory Committee for Education and Human Resources (2016-2019) and on NSF’s Cyber Infrastructure Advisory Boards (2016-2019). * The inaugural recipient of the William Yslas Velez Outstanding STEM Award, co-sponsored by the Victoria Foundation and the Pasqua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona (2015). * Elected as a Member-at-Large of the Section on Mathematics of the AAAS (2016–2020). * In April 2017,

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

invited Castillo-Chavez to present a lecture in the Series "Thinking Out Loud," titled "The Role of Contagion in the Building and Sustainability of Communities." * Pete C. Garcia, Victoria Foundation - Higher Education Award. Outstanding Latina/o Faculty: Research in Higher Education Award. September 4, 2019.

Appointments

Primary Affiliations have included: * School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University * Global Institute of Sustainability, Distinguished Sustainability Scientist, Arizona State University * Founding Director Simon A. Levin Mathematical, Computational & Modeling Sciences Center, Arizona State University * ASU-SFI Center for Biosocial Complex Systems * Center for Gender Equity in Science and Technology, Arizona State University * External Santa Fe Institute, External Faculty Member * Biological Statistics and Computational Biology, Cornell University - Adjunct Faculty

Selected publications

Books (selected) * Carlos Castillo-Chavez, Fred Brauer, Zhilan Feng (2019). ''Mathematical Models in Epidemiology''. New York: Springer. * Carlos Castillo-Chavez, Fred Brauer (2013). ''Mathematical Models for Communicable Diseases''. SIAM. * Clemence, Dominic; Gumel, Abba; Castillo-Chávez, Carlos; Mickens, Ronald E. (2006). ''Mathematical studies on human disease dynamics: emerging paradigms and challenges: AMS-IMS-SIAM Joint Summer Research Conference, competitive mathematical models of disease dynamics: emerging paradigms and challenges, July 17–21, 2005, Snowbird, Utah. Providence, Rhode Island: American Mathematical Society. . * Castillo-Chávez, Carlos (2003). ''Bioterrorism: mathematical modeling applications in homeland security''. Philadelphia: Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. . * Blower, Sally; Castillo-Chávez, Carlos (Ed) (2002). ''Mathematical approaches for emerging and reemerging infectious diseases: an introduction''. Berlin: Springer. . * Castillo-Chávez, Carlos; Brauer, Fred (2001). ''Mathematical models in population biology and epidemiology''. Berlin: Springer. . * Carlos Castillo-Chavez (editor) (1989). ''Mathematical and Statistical Approaches to AIDS Epidemiology''. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. Scientific articles (selected/most cited out of more than 500 publications) * Castillo-Chavez Carlos, Derdei Bichara, and Benjamin R Morin. Perspectives on the role of mobility, behavior, and time scales in the spread of diseases. ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences'', 113(51):14582–14588, 2016. * Chowell, D., C. Castillo-Chavez, S Krishna, X Qiu, Modelling the effect of early detection of Ebola- The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 15(2): 148--149, 2015 * Carlos Castillo-Chavez, Roy Curtiss, Peter Daszak, Simon A. Levin, Oscar Patterson-Lomba, Charles Perrings, George Poste, and Sherry Towers. ''Beyond Ebola: lessons to mitigate future pandemics''. The Lancet Global Health 3 (7), e354-e355. 2015 * Eli P. Fenichel, Carlos Castillo-Chavez, M. G. Ceddia, Gerardo Chowell, Paula A. Gonzalez Parra, Graham J. Hickling, Garth Holloway, Richard Horan, Benjamin Morin, Charles Perrings, Michael Springborn, Leticia Velazquez, and Cristina Villalobos, "Adaptive human behavior in epidemiological models", ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences PNAS'', USA 2011; 108:6306-11 * Castillo-Chavez, C. and B. Song: "Dynamical Models of Tuberculosis and applications", ''Journal of Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering'', 1(2): 361-404, 2004. * Castillo-Chavez C., Z. Feng and W. Huang. "On the computation Ro and its role on global stability", ''Mathematical Approaches for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases: An Introduction'', IMA Volume 125, 229-250, Springer-Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg-New York. Edited by Carlos Castillo-Chavez with Pauline van den Driessche, Denise Kirschner and Abdul-Aziz Yakubu, 2002. * Chowell, G., Hengartner, N.W., Castillo-Chavez, C., Fenimore, P.W., Hyman, J.M. "The Basic Reproductive Number of Ebola and the Effects of Public Health Measures: The Cases of Congo and Uganda". ''Journal of Theoretical Biology'', 229(1): 119-126 (July 2004)

References

External links

Mathematical and Theoretical Biology Institute and Institute for Strengthening the Understanding of Mathematics and Science

Carlos Castillo-Chavez
at the SACNAS Biography Project

at AAAS
Simon A. Levin Mathematical, Computational and Modeling Sciences Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castillo-Chavez, Carlos Arizona State University faculty American mathematicians Mexican scientists Mexican mathematicians Cornell University faculty 1952 births University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee alumni University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point alumni Fellows of the American Mathematical Society Living people Fellows of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Santa Fe Institute people Brown University faculty Hispanic and Latino American scientists