EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

University of Tennessee, B.A., 1974
University of Tennessee, M.A., 1976
University of Wisconsin, M.S., 1978
University of Wisconsin, Ph.D.,1982

TEACHING INTERESTS

2008 Fall Semester Teaching

• Mathematics 564 - Theory of Probability
• Mathematics 596a - Quantitative Biology Seminar

I also coordinate the Genetic Inference Group

During May, 2006, I gave a series of lectures on Structure and Approximation for Markov Chains in (Bio)chemical Kinetics to the Statistics Department at Oxford University.

For July, 2008, I gave a series of lectures Understanding the Peopling of Indonesia: Strategies from Historical Linguistics and Population Genetics at the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology in Jarkarta, Indonesia. I will put up those lectures soon.

I often teach

• introductory statistics,
• graduate courses in probability and statistics

  The Biomathematics Seminar is a central activity of the Biology, Mathematics and Physics Initiative. The seminar was a part of the University of Arizona's activities Math Awareness Month, April 1999, Mathematics and Biology and Math Awareness Month, April 2002, Mathematics and the Genome.

  Notes for

  • Probability Theory
  • Discrete Time Stochastic Processes
  • Continuous Time Stochastic Processes
  • Theoretical Statistics

  With funding from the National Science Foundation, the Southwest Regional Institute in the Mathematical Sciences, works to bring research ideas to a broad audience. In one project, the "bee team" brought ideas in mathematical modeling of the dynamics of honey bee populations to high schools. The class notes BEEPOP detail these activities.

  William Yslas Vélez and Joseph C. Watkins (1999) The Research Mathematician as Storyteller in Contemporary Issues in Mathematics Education, 36, 45-56. Cambridge University Press.

  Since the summer of 1998, the University of Arizona hosted a Native American Summer Institute. The activities for the 1998 Summer Institute are the source of the documentary film, A Tale for All Nations, directed by Stephanie Lucas, produced by Joe Watkins and Laurel Watkins, edited by J.T.Waldrop.

  RESEARCH INTERESTS

  My mathematical training is in probability theory and stochastic processes. I now apply this to problems in stochastic modeling of biological phenomena. Here are some examples research projects:

  • Work with Steve Lansing in the Anthropology Department and Mike Hammer's lab on Austronesian Societies: Reading Social Structure from the Genome. This project was funded by an National Science Foundation Human and Social Dynamics Program.

    Joseph C. Watkins (2004) The Role of Marriage Rules in the Structure of Genetic Relatedness, Theoretical Population Biology 66, 13-24

    J.S. Lansing, A.J. Redd, T. M. Karafet, J.Watkins, I.W. Ardika, S.P.K. Surata, J.S. Schoenfelder, M. Campbell, A.M. Merriwether, M.F. Hammer (2004) An Indian Trader in Ancient Bali? Antiquity 78, 287-293.

    Tatiana M. Karafet, J. S. Lansing, Alan J. Redd, Joseph Watkins, I. W. Ardika, S. P.K. Surata, Laura Mayer, Michael Bamshad, Lynn Jorde, Michael F. Hammer (2005) Balinese Y Chromosome Perspective on the Peopling of Indonesia: Genetic Contributions from Pre-Neolithic Hunter-Gatherers, Austronesian Farmers, and Indian Traders, Human Biology 77.1, 93-114.

    Joseph C. Watkins (2007) Microsatellite Evolution: Markov Transition Functions for a Suite of Models Theoretical Population Biology 71, 147-159.

    J. Stephen Lansing, Murray P. Cox, Sean S. Downey, Brandon M Gabler., Brian Hallmark, Tatiana M. Karafet, Peter Norquest, John W. Schoenfelder Herawati Sudoyo, Joseph C. Watkins, Joseph C. Watkins, and Michael F. Hammer (2007) Coevolution of languages and genes on the island of Sumba, eastern Indonesia, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 104 16022-16026.

    J. Stephen Lansing, Joseph C. Watkins, Brian Hallmark, Murray P. Cox, Tatiana M. Karafet, Herawati Sudoyo, and Michael F. Hammer (2008) Male dominance rarely skews the frequency distribution of Y chromosome haplotypes in human populations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA (in press)

    Joseph C. Watkins (2008) Convergence Time to the Ewens Sampling Formula. (in review)

  • Theoretical population genetics

    Xavier Didelot, Jesse E. Taylor, Joseph C. Watkins (2008) A duality identity between a model of bacterial recombination and the Wright-Fisher diffusion. Festschrift in Honor of Thomas Kurtz (in press)

  • Models of single proteins.

    Through the Biology, Mathematics and Physics Initiative, Brian Walton completed a dissertation on a model of kinesin movement along a microtubule. He is working closely with and receiving data from Koen Visscher's lab .

    Also, with Dmitry Kondrashov and William Montfort, we are examining the dynamics of the ligand binding protein Nitrophorin.

    Kondrashov, D.A, Watkins, J.C, and Montfort W.R., Ligand escape from heme proteins: geminate rebinding generates multiple off-rates Journal of Chemical Physics (in preparation)

  • Models for moderate sized structured populations with applications to flour beetles.

    Joseph C. Watkins (2000) Consistency and Fluctuation Theorems for Discrete Time Structured Population Models Having Demographic Stochasticity, Journal of Mathematical Biology 41, 253-271

    Wade Leitner and Joseph C. Watkins Analytical Construction of Population Dynamics from Individual-Based Models: Forging a new foundation for population dynamics (preprint)

  • Through the Flinn Foundation and the National Science Foundation sponsorship of the Biology, Mathematics and Physics Initiative, Kevin Anderson completed a dissertation on historical processes in bacterial colonies.

    Mendelson, N.H., A. Bourque, K. Wilkening, K.R. Anderson, and J.C. Watkins. (1999) Organized Cell Swimming Motions in Bacillus subtilis Colonies: Patterns of Short-Lived Whirls and Jets. Journal of Bacteriology 181, 600-609.

    Kevin R. Anderson, Neil H. Mendelson, and Joseph C. Watkins. (2000) A New Mathematical Approach Predicts Individual Cell Growth Behavior using Bacterial Population Information, Journal of Theoretical Biology 202, 87-94.

  • Work with Gloria Degrandi-Hoffman of the Carl Hayden Bee Research Center on queen development times and the Africanization of the honey bee population and on the dynamics of swarms. We are also examining the interaction of honey bees and native bees.
    

    Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman, Joseph C. Watkins, Anita M. Collins, Gerald M. Loper, Joseph H. Martin, Marias C. Arias, and Walter S. Sheppard, (1998) Queen Development Time as a Factor in the Africanization of the European Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Populations, Annals of the Entomological Society of America 91, 51-58.

    Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman, and Joseph C. Watkins, (2000) The foraging activity of honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) and non-Apis bees on hybrid sunflowers ( Helianthus arruus L.) and its influence on cross-pollination and seed set. Journal of Apicultural Research 39, 37-45.

  SERVICE

  Amnesty International's Western Regional Conference came to Tucson from October 13-15, 2006.

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  Joseph C. Watkins / Department of Mathematics / Interdisciplinary Program on Applied Mathematics / University of Arizona / last revised August 25, 2006.