Mathematical Sciences for Sustainability

A special issue of Mathematics (ISSN 2227-7390). This special issue belongs to the section "Engineering Mathematics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2022) | Viewed by 539

Special Issue Editor

Mathematics Department, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA 01609-2280, USA
Interests: combinatorics; rigiditiy of structures; geometric foundations of computer-aided design; symmetry and duality; the history and philosophy of mathematics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Mounting scientific evidence makes clear that all material aspects of modern Western life have essential components which are unsustainable, and that there are key demographics which are in active or passive denial. It is vital, therefore, that mathematics plays its role in quantifying the extent and urgency of, as well as possible solutions to, these difficult issues.

For example, the Lotka–Volterra model is a basic mathematical jumping-off point, bridging the gap between existing and needed processing as it establishes conditions of growth and death rates under which predator/prey populations may both indefinitely survive under varying circumstances. In our present COVID-19 times, we face a much more complicated scenario.

The complication lies in the fact that, unlike the predator/prey scenario, we do not want to maintain equilibrium – we do not want to sustain the virus nor wish to return to our previous, unsustainable lives. In our fight against the pandemic, societies and governments will be faced with complex choices: what should we prioritize as necessary to sustain – Our health? Our economy? Our culture? Our freedom? Our educational system? Mathematical models of possibilities and limits can provide a politically and emotionally neutral means of understanding and tackling the problem.

The nominal predator/prey dichotomy is, of course, more broadly applied to human social and material concerns. Beyond mathematical modeling, other emerging techniques from data science, machine learning, robotics and, most importantly, equitable decision-making, are coming to the fore.

This volume hopes to collect and address the major sustainability concerns of our decade and century by highlighting the mathematics used or created through the attempt to find solutions.

Prof. Brigitte Servatius
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Mathematics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainability
  • machine learning
  • decision making
  • mathematical modeling
  • social justice

Published Papers

There is no accepted submissions to this special issue at this moment.
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