Erik Rauch
Encyclopedia
Erik Rauch was a biophysicist
and theoretical ecologist
who worked at NECSI, MIT, Santa Fe Institute
, Yale University
, Princeton University
, and other institutions.
Rauch's most notable paper was published in Nature
and concerned the mathematical model
ing of the conservation of biodiversity
.
and Mathematics
from Yale University
in May 1996. His undergraduate thesis was "The Geometry of Critical Ising Clusters", under the direction of Benoit Mandelbrot
, the inventor of fractal geometry. He then worked at the IBM Watson Research Center in the theoretical physics department, and began graduate study at Stanford University
in 1996.
He received his PhD. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in 2004 under the direction of Gerald Sussman: his thesis topic was " Diversity of Evolving Systems: Scaling and Dynamics of Genealogical Trees "
He then joined the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University
as a postdoctoral fellow in the group of Simon A. Levin
, the Moffett professor of Biology in 2005, and was in that position at his early death.
His hobby of collecting place names led Rauch to found MetaCarta with John Frank and Doug Brenhouse. Using MetaCarta's software, Rauch developed maps like the four below for fun. Rauch was an inventor of spatial information processing systems.
He founded several organizations, including
He died in a hiking accident in California's Sequoia National Park
at age 31.
Biophysics
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that uses the methods of physical science to study biological systems. Studies included under the branches of biophysics span all levels of biological organization, from the molecular scale to whole organisms and ecosystems...
and theoretical ecologist
Theoretical ecology
Theoretical ecology is the scientific discipline devoted to the study of ecological systems using theoretical methods such as simple conceptual models, mathematical models, computational simulations, and advanced data analysis...
who worked at NECSI, MIT, Santa Fe Institute
Santa Fe Institute
The Santa Fe Institute is an independent, nonprofit theoretical research institute located in Santa Fe and dedicated to the multidisciplinary study of the fundamental principles of complex adaptive systems, including physical, computational, biological, and social systems.The Institute houses a...
, Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, and other institutions.
Rauch's most notable paper was published in Nature
Nature (journal)
Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
and concerned the mathematical model
Mathematical model
A mathematical model is a description of a system using mathematical concepts and language. The process of developing a mathematical model is termed mathematical modeling. Mathematical models are used not only in the natural sciences and engineering disciplines A mathematical model is a...
ing of the conservation of biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
.
Biography
He received a B.S. in Computer ScienceComputer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
and Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in May 1996. His undergraduate thesis was "The Geometry of Critical Ising Clusters", under the direction of Benoit Mandelbrot
Benoît Mandelbrot
Benoît B. Mandelbrot was a French American mathematician. Born in Poland, he moved to France with his family when he was a child...
, the inventor of fractal geometry. He then worked at the IBM Watson Research Center in the theoretical physics department, and began graduate study at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 1996.
He received his PhD. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in 2004 under the direction of Gerald Sussman: his thesis topic was " Diversity of Evolving Systems: Scaling and Dynamics of Genealogical Trees "
He then joined the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
as a postdoctoral fellow in the group of Simon A. Levin
Simon A. Levin
Simon Asher Levin is an American ecologist. He is a Moffett Professor of Biology in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at Princeton University. He specializes in using mathematical modeling and empirical studies in the understanding of macroscopic patterns of ecosystems and biological...
, the Moffett professor of Biology in 2005, and was in that position at his early death.
His hobby of collecting place names led Rauch to found MetaCarta with John Frank and Doug Brenhouse. Using MetaCarta's software, Rauch developed maps like the four below for fun. Rauch was an inventor of spatial information processing systems.
He founded several organizations, including
- ALifeAlife-Other uses:* Artificial life* Artificial Life, Inc., , a mobile content and technology provider...
- TerraShare
- MetaCartaMetaCartaMetaCarta is aprivate company providing geographic solutions since 2001. Their headquarters are in Cambridge, MA with additional offices located in Washington DC; Houston, TX; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; and New York, NY.-History:...
.
He died in a hiking accident in California's Sequoia National Park
Sequoia National Park
Sequoia National Park is a national park in the southern Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California, in the United States. It was established on September 25, 1890. The park spans . Encompassing a vertical relief of nearly , the park contains among its natural resources the highest point in the...
at age 31.
External links
- Erich Rauch's CV at Stanford
- www.erikrauch.org A snapshot of the web surrounding Rauch's original webpage. , many of the papers could be read from their original servers linked from Erik's primary home page at MIT.
- no violence period Rauch's compilation of "Unconventional Pro-Life Perspectives on Abortion and the Right to Life"
- Available through AIP: Long-range interactions and evolutionary stability in a predator-prey system
- MetaCarta