Zhilan Julie Feng (born 1959) is a Chinese-American applied mathematician whose research topics include

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 ...

population dynamics Population dynamics is the type of mathematics used to model and study the size and age composition of populations as dynamical systems. Population dynamics is a branch of mathematical biology, and uses mathematical techniques such as differenti ...

, and

epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and Risk factor (epidemiology), determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population, and application of this knowledge to prevent dise ...

. She is a professor of mathematics at

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

, and a program director in the Division of Mathematical Sciences at 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 ...

Education and career

Feng studied mathematics at

Jilin University Jilin University (JLU) is a public university in the city of Changchun, Jilin, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. History Founded ...

in China, earning a bachelor's degree in 1982 and a master's degree in 1985. She came to

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 ...

for graduate study, completing her Ph.D. in 1994. Her dissertation, ''A Mathematical Model for the Dynamics of Childhood Diseases Under the Impact of Isolation'', was supervised by Horst R. Thieme. After her postdoctoral study 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 ...

, she joined Purdue University as an assistant professor in 1996. She was promoted to full professor in 2005, and became a program director at the National Science Foundation in 2019.

Recognition

Feng was named a Fellow of 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, ...

, in the 2022 class of fellows, "for contributions to applied mathematics, particularly in biology, ecology, and epidemiology".

Books

Feng's books include: *''Disease Evolution: Models, Concepts, and Data Analyses'' (American Mathematical Society, 2006, edited with Ulf Dieckmann and Simon A. Levin) *''Applications of Epidemiological Models to Public Health Policymaking: The role of heterogeneity in model predictions'' (World Scientific, 2014) *''Mathematical Models of Plant-Herbivore Interactions'' (Chapman & Hall / CRC, 2018, with Donald DeAngelis) *''Mathematical Models in Epidemiology'' (Springer, 2019, with Fred Brauer and

Carlos Castillo-Chavez Carlos Castillo-Chavez (born March 29, 1952) is a Mexican-American mathematician. He held positions as a Regents Professor and the Joaquín Bustoz Jr. Professor of Mathematical Biology at Arizona State University. Castillo-Chavez founded the M ...

)

References

External links

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* 1959 births Living people Chinese biologists Chinese epidemiologists Chinese mathematicians Chinese women biologists Chinese women mathematicians American biologists American epidemiologists 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians American women biologists American women epidemiologists Applied mathematicians Theoretical biologists Jilin University alumni Cornell University alumni Purdue University faculty United States National Science Foundation officials Fellows of the American Mathematical Society 20th-century American women mathematicians 21st-century American women mathematicians {{US-mathematician-stub