Increasingly, mathematical methods are being used to advantage in addressing the problems facing humanity in managing its environment. Problems in resource management and epidemiology especially have demonstrated the utility of quantitative modeling. To explore these approaches, the Center of Applied Mathematics at Cornell University organized a conference in Fall, 1987, with the objective of surveying and assessing the state of the art. This volume records the proceedings of that conference. Underlying virtually all of these studies are models of population growth, from individual cells to large vertebrates. Cell population growth presents the simplest of systems for study, and is of fundamental importance in its own right for a variety of medical and environmental applications. In Part I of this volume, Michael Shuler describes computer models of individual cells and cell populations, and Frank Hoppensteadt discusses the synchronization of bacterial culture growth. Together, these provide a valuable introduction to mathematical cell biology.
