Matthew Aldridge:

It's difficult to say exactly what I hope to take away from this class, as
I'm not quite sure yet what to expect from it. With that in mind, I'll try
to give an appropriately vague response here... I view computational science
as essentially a discipline with the primary goal of answering questions
posed by experts in various domains. So, I suppose what I would primarily
like to achieve in this class is a better understanding of what questions
are asked or should be asked in the natural resource management domain,
along with some amount of the nomenclature, thought processes, etc, involved
in posing such questions. As for secondary goals... to practice relating CS
concepts to those with little or no CS background, perhaps, as that is often
a requisite part of computational science projects. The best way to learn is
by teaching others, I think.

Bristen_Bains:

As a new graduate student, I have not yet chosen a general area for my t
hesis or PILOT.  When I signed up for this course I hoped to get a feel for whet
er computational ecology would be a good area for me to study.  I also hoped tha
t this class might directly lead to a research project.

After attending the first class, I think it will be interesting to learn 
more about natural resource management and to work with people outside my field. 
I also hope to learn more about computer science and computational ecology 
from the instructors and the other computer science students in the class.

Lesley Bulluck:

My research interests are in conservation/population biology as well as 
resource/habitat management.  I am developing a population model for 
golden-winged warblers in the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee.  The 
golden-wing is a Neotropical migratory songbird that is experiencing 
significant population declines.  I plan to use MATLAB/Simulink software to 
develop a model that will simulate golden-wing population size over time as a 
function of (1) land-use change (coal mining) and (2) interactions between 
golden-wings and a species with which it hybridizes (blue-winged warbler).  
Model outcomes will illustrate the effects of land-use change and 
interspecific interactions on the persistence of this species in the 
Cumberland Mountains.

This model will have stochastic and deterministic components and will likely 
have discrete time steps.  Transition probabilities from one model state to 
another (i.e., hatch year bird matures to become a second-year bird) are 
chosen based on field-collected demographic data on golden-wings and other 
songbird populations.  I have not yet decided whether the model will be 
spatially explicit, however, a landscape habitat model for golden-wings is 
being developed this semester.  I have developed a general framework for the 
model on paper in terms model components, and look forward to plugging these 
ideas into the computer.  I am currently playing with Simulink to do this.  
Having said all of this, there are two main things I would like to see happen 
in this course: (1) learn new vocabulary that will facilitate communication 
between myself and computational scientists, and (2) hear a computational 
scientists perspective on the current state of my modeling ideas for this 
project and possibly ways to make it better.

Michael Campfield:

As requested, My interests in Natural resource management are related to 
data sharing, distributed computing and innovative computing methods.

Paula Federico:

My general research interests are in mathematical ecology.  I am interested in 
how mathematical and computational models can be used to solve/answer 
ecological problems. These ecological problems can be related to conservation, 
biodiversity, sustainable resource management, population dynamics, etc. In 
particular, I am interested in population models based on individuals in which 
physiological processes are taken into account.  Currently, the specific 
organisms for which I am developing a model are temperate-zone insectivorous 
bats. This particular model will be the central focus of my Ph. D. 
dissertation.
As I work towards my doctoral degree I am trying to acquire a good background 
on different modeling choices that can be applied to ecology. I believe 
computational models are a very important tool for ecology.  From this course 
I would like to learn about the different possibilities and their potential. 
As well I would like to see real applications and implementations of these 
models. Also it would be great if I can get some new ideas for my research.

Keith Mars:

Last week Dr. Gross asked us to e-mail you a paragraph regarding why we are 
taking Computational Science for Natural Resource Managers, so here is my bit.
 The question posed should produce a seemingly simple answer, but when classes 
like this are just now being taught, there is no textbook, and the interchange 
of these two disciplines are so relatively new I don't think I know what to 
expect, only what is possible.  In short, I am taking this class as an 
exploratory venture into what seem to be new tools, methods, and concepts that 
the powers of computational science could provide to improving natural 
sciences/resources. 

Jennifer Murrow:


I am a natural resource manager/biologist.  I do believe science is the 
backbone of good management decisions.  In the future, I will be responsible 
for making or helping managers make these types of decisions.  Because of 
this, I think it is vital I have a broad understand of the scientific tools 
available to me.  From this class, I hope to gain a better understanding of 
large-scale modeling approaches beyond ĀcannedĀ applications.  Furthermore, an
understanding of terminology, data quality, data quantity, and computer 
resources needed to explain and attempt such modeling.  I would never be doing 
modeling like this on my own, but I do need to be competent when discussing 
and illustrating my modeling needs.

I would also like to discuss some proof or defense of such modeling attempts, 
linking super-computer modeling with real world situations.  I would like to 
see support of the complex modelingĀs applicability.  I would like to see an 
illustration of 'ground-truthing' these types of models and programs.  
Overall, I am not as interested in how to code a program as I am in how to 
intelligently communicate with a computer science person and what I can and 
cannot do with modeling.

Chris Oswalt:

In short, I am interested in exposing myself to the terminology, literature, 
methods and applications of cutting edge computational science in the context 
of ecology.  As ecological and natural resource management issues grow in 
complexity,and at the same time, answers and policy are demanded more quickly, 
scientists and practitioners alike must adapt fast, efficient and accurate 
predictive capabilities.  Therefore, it is important to be up-to-date on and 
knowledgeable of methodology and tools that can model varying management 
scenarios and analyze variable outcomes to optimize decision-making.  

Specifically, I am interested in spatially explicit individual-based models.  
Currently, researchers and managers lack the capabilities to model the growth 
of bottomland oaks to the degree that common stem characteristics used to 
discern tree grade (quality) can be measured.  I am interested in building a 
model that can predict stem quality characteristics through focusing on crown 
development.  Upon completion, this model will add another layer of 
sophistication to lands management in alluvial systems.  This course can 
help me further understand appropriate thought-processes and lines of 
methodology in order to complete this task.

Aaron Peacock:

Over the past six years, SERDPs Ecosystem Management Project has funded three 
ecological indicator projects and two ecological threshold studies to examine the
 land use effects of military training at Fort Benning, GA.  Although each project 
has produced its own results, the subject of our research is to integrate the
 data from each of the individual projects and suggest groups of indicators that
 would be beneficial for military land management.  Our basic premise has been 
that a collection of indicators would better suit the diverse aspects of military
 land uses rather than single indicators.  Once the indicators are selected we 
will explore the distributions of the parameters as they relate to military land 
uses.  The resulting data will provide a guide for military land managers. 

This course is appealing because it affords an opportunity to survey the fast 
growing field of Ecoinfomatics with people who are at the forefront of the work.
Our group does not want to reinvent the wheel and it is plausible that software 
or algorithms exist that could help us in our project.  Mainly we are interested 
in the first stated goal of the course, Provide a survey of computational 
science for students and practitioners of natural resource management in the 
context of applications that affect public policy, and we look forward to the 
course.