{"526611":{"#nid":"526611","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Get to Know the School of Math Prof: Howard (Howie) Weiss","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is your \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/people.math.gatech.edu\/~weiss\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Eresearch\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E about?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI work closely with biologists to combine mathematical modeling with experiments. We study how populations of bacteria grow and evolve, as well as the dynamics of bacterial killing by antibiotics and viruses, especially in\u0026nbsp;physically structured environments such as biofilms.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPhysically structured habitats are particularly critical for treatment of surface-associated infections, such as endocarditis, osteomyelitis, and infections of prosthetic heart valves and joints.\u0026nbsp;Our goal is to improve the efficacy of\u0026nbsp;antimicrobial\u0026nbsp;therapy.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI am also the principal investigator of the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/membercentral.aaas.org\/blogs\/member-spotlight\/howie-weiss-tackles-high-flying-research-airplane-germs\u0022\u003EBoeing-sponsored FlyHealthy\u2122\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/a\u003Eresearch study, whose\u0026nbsp;goal is to understand the rates and routes of transmission of infectious diseases in an airplane cabin during flight and to find strategies to mitigate transmission.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat advice would you give to a college freshman who wants to be a mathematician?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDo a minor in an exciting area of science, engineering, or finance. \u0026nbsp;A minor will help you develop a foundation of knowledge in another field, to see how mathematics is used in applications and to learn\u0026nbsp;new mathematical methods.\u0026nbsp;Almost everything I know about numerical approximations and special functions I learned in physics classes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe minor would also provide a basis for\u0026nbsp;future multidisciplinary collaborations, which I enjoy immensely. Also learn to program well in at least one computer language, and take at least one intensive writing\u0026nbsp;class.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is the most exciting thing about being a part of Georgia Tech?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA huge amount of exciting research goes on at Tech, and almost everybody uses, or at least appreciates, mathematics. This environment leads to many exciting collaboration opportunities across\u0026nbsp;campus.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are you most surprised about in your encounters with Georgia Tech students?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI am continually\u0026nbsp;surprised by their cleverness and excellent work ethic.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJust yesterday I met with an undergraduate who\u0026nbsp;started\u0026nbsp;a research project with me on animal movement. Two weeks ago\u0026nbsp;I sent him a video of the movement of a deer that a wildlife biologist\u0026nbsp;colleague created from GPS tracking. On his own initiative, the student extracted the essential data from the video, taught himself the basics of Markov\u0026nbsp;chains, and\u0026nbsp;constructed a Markov chain model. Wow!\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIf you could not be a mathematician, in what line of work would you be now?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI hated biology in high school and college, because it was taught to me as completely descriptive, with no quantitative element. Biology has since become much more quantitative, and mathematical models have provided many important insights to biological phenomena. If I could not be a mathematician, I would probably enjoy being a microbiologist, a geneticist,\u0026nbsp;or a virologist.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat unique skill, talent, or quality do you have that your colleagues may not know about?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI have a\u0026nbsp;robot shop in my basement.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMembers of my entire\u0026nbsp;family are big supporters of \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.firstinspires.org\/robotics\/frc\/what-is-first-robotics-competition\u0022\u003EFIRST Robotics Competition\u003C\/a\u003E (FRC) in Dekalb\u0026nbsp;County schools.\u0026nbsp;When my older daughter, Kristin, was in high school, she competed in FRC, which involves building and\u0026nbsp;programming\u0026nbsp;robots up to 120 pounds. Now a Georgia Tech\u0026nbsp;sophomore,\u0026nbsp;she mentors Dekalb County schools\u0027 only FRC team.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMy younger daughter, Zoe, has competed on\u0026nbsp;Dekalb County schools\u0027 only FTC (FIRST Tech Challenge) team\u0026nbsp;these past three years. We have been hosting her team in our basement,\u0026nbsp;complete with\u0026nbsp;a 12 ft x 12 ft playing field.\u0026nbsp;Previously, she participated in \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.firstinspires.org\/robotics\/fll\u0022\u003EFIRST LEGO League\u003C\/a\u003E (FLL) robotics. In\u0026nbsp;FLL, children in grades 4-8 build and program autonomous robots using LEGO Mindstorms components and compete in a yearly themed playing\u0026nbsp;field.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMost\u0026nbsp;Dekalb\u0026nbsp;County\u0026nbsp;elementary schools have an FLL team, but very few teacher-coaches have any technical background. My wife, Lora; Zoe; and I spend Friday evenings in the fall\u0026nbsp;traveling around to Dekalb County schools to help run\u0026nbsp;hands-on\u0026nbsp;FLL\u0026nbsp;workshops. We also judge at the local and state tournaments.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is your ideal way to relax?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI enjoy outdoor activities: paddling along local rivers, hiking, and biking with my family. I also ran for much of my life, and after a (too) long hiatus, I have resumed running.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat three places would you like to visit? \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECertainly the Galapagos Islands.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESeveral years ago I wrote a paper on inverted biomass pyramids at some pristine coral reefs in the middle of the Pacific, and in principle, I would love to explore one or two of these reefs. In practice, this would likely require weeks on a boat in the open ocean \u2013 I get queasy just thinking about this \u2013 and then diving with aggressive sharks.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFinally, I would like visit Troms\u00f8, located above the Arctic circle, to observe the Northern Lights and give a talk in the world\u2019s northernmost university. I know a few excellent scientists who work there.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Part of a Series of Q\u0026A Miniprofiles for Math Awareness Month"}],"field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"School of Mathematics faculty explain their research, recall highlights of their careers, and share personal insights."}],"uid":"30678","created_gmt":"2016-04-19 10:23:43","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:21:21","author":"A. Maureen Rouhi","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-04-21T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-04-21T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"526691":{"id":"526691","type":"image","title":"Howard (Howie) Weiss","body":null,"created":"1461268800","gmt_created":"2016-04-21 20:00:00","changed":"1475895298","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:58","alt":"Howard (Howie) Weiss","file":{"fid":"206130","name":"howie.weiss_.gatech.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/howie.weiss_.gatech.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/howie.weiss_.gatech.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2233842,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/howie.weiss_.gatech.jpg?itok=UFxD3eBM"}},"526711":{"id":"526711","type":"image","title":"Competition Robot","body":null,"created":"1461268800","gmt_created":"2016-04-21 20:00:00","changed":"1475895298","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:58","alt":"Competition Robot","file":{"fid":"206131","name":"howie.weiss_.2.img_0272.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/howie.weiss_.2.img_0272.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/howie.weiss_.2.img_0272.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":29184,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/howie.weiss_.2.img_0272.jpeg?itok=JFDhvAcO"}}},"media_ids":["526691","526711"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"64981","name":"Howie Weiss"},{"id":"667","name":"robotics"},{"id":"168854","name":"School of Mathematics"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39431","name":"Data Engineering and Science"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA. Maureen Rouhi\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDirector of Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECollege of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maureen.rouhi@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}