Todd Young

Dynamics in Biology Research Group - Spring 2014.

Xue Gong, Todd Young, Kara Finley, Richard Buckalew, Ying Xin, Winfried Just, Danielle Witt, Valentin Afraimovich, Greg Moses, Bismark Oduro, Will Clark. Missing: Nathan Breitsch, Philip Miller.

Professor of Mathematics
Ohio University

My mission: To contribute to transformative progress in biology and numerical analysis through the application of dynamical systems ideas and to give students at all levels exciting and rigorous training in the mathematical sciences that will help them to have productive, rewarding careers.


Contact Information

  • Department of Mathematics
    Ohio University
    Athens, OH 45701
  • E-mail: youngt@ohio.edu
  • Office: Morton Hall 547
  • Office hours:
  • Phone: (740) 593-1277

Education & Professional Experience


Teaching

Materials for the textbook "Introduction to Numerical Methods and Matlab Programming for Engineers" by Young and Mohlenkamp.

Student Course Evaluations

MATLAB for Calculus Homework Assignments

1804 Project - Computational Technology in the Calculus and Beyond

Book: Technology in College Math - A Simple Approach

The Matlab Workbook - A Supplement for Calculus, Differential Equations and Linear Algebra.


Current Students

Abdalnasar Algoud
PhD candidate in Mathematics; active since summer 2019. Project: Dynamical modeling of the cell cycle in large ensembles of cells with cell-cell feedback.
Saad Aldosari
PhD candidate in Mathematics; active since summer 2019. Project: Dynamics of Extrapolation for Alternating Algorithms.
Daniel Ntiamoah
PhD candidate in Mathematics; active since summer 2019. Project: The role of Orders in Alternating Algorithms.
Moayad Odeh
PhD candidate in Mathematics; active since summer 2020. Project: Numerical algorithms for some PDEs in biological applications.


Past Students

Rabi K.C.
PhD Mathematics 2020; Dissertation: Instability of $k$-Cluster Solutions in a Population Model of the Cell Cycle when $k$ is Prime.
Kiattisak Prathom
PhD Mathematics 2019; .Dissertation: Dynamical modeling of the cell cycle in large ensembles of cells with cell-cell feedback. Currently: Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Walailak University in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, Thailand.
Luke Morgan
B.S. Mathematics 2017. Project: Dynamical modeling of the cell cycle in large ensembles of cells with cell-cell feedback. Currently: Data Analyst for Medspace a medical laboratory in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Xue (Shirley) Gong
PhD Mathematics 2016. Dissertation: Dynamical modeling of the cell cycle in large ensembles of cells with cell-cell feedback. Currently: Assistant Professor of Mathematics at University of Wisconsin, Stout
Philip Miller
Bachelor of Science in Biology 2016. Projects: Cell Cycle Dynamics and Chagas Disease modeling, with W. Just.
Gregory Moses
PhD Mathematics 2015. Dissertation: Dynamical modeling of the cell cycle in large ensembles of cells with cell-cell feedback. Currently: Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Chadron State College, Chadron, NE.
Kara Finley
B.S. Biology 2014. Projects: Dynamical modeling of the cell cycle in large ensembles of cells with cell-cell feedback and applications in Drosophila embryos. Experiments on related to early detection of ventilator associated pneumonia. Currently: Ph.D. student in the Cancer and Cell Biology Program at the University of Cincinnati.
William Clark
Bachelors Math and Mechanical Engineering 2014. Project: Computations of models of epidemiology of Chagas disease, with W. Just. Currently: Ph.D. program in Applied Mathematics, University of Michigan.
Richard Bucklew
Ph.D. Mathematics 2014. Dissertation: Dynamical modeling of the cell cycle in large ensembles of cells with cell-cell feedback. Currently: Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Wilmington College.
Danielle Witt
B.S. Math and Physics 2014; active 2012-14. Projects: Computation of random dynamical systems, with A. Neiman and simulation of movement of filaments in axons with P. Jung. Currently: Finished Ph.D. at Bowling Green State and is working as an analyst for the U.S. government.
Nathan Brietch
B.S. HTC Mathematics 2014; active 2011-2014 Project: Dynamical modeling of the cell cycle in large ensembles of cells with cell-cell feedback. Won Outstanding HTC Thesis Award. Currently working for Progressive Insurance as a data scientist specializing in computer vision and deep learning.
Ben Elbert
M.S. Applied Math 2012; active 2010-12. Project: Computation of Lyapunov exponents and conversion between continuous and Boolean dynamical systems, with W. Just. Currently at Alliance Data, Columbus OH.
Neal Burk
B.S. Mathematics 2011; active 2010-2011. Project: Computations of cell cycle systems. Interned with Sherwin Williams. Currently an associate at Ernst and Young in Cleveland.
Mike Smith
M.S. Applied Mathematics 2011; active 2009-2011. Project: Computations of cell cycle systems. Currently studying for doctorate in Math Ed at Ohio U.
Derrick Sturgill
M.S. Applied Math 2011; active 2009-2011. Project: Computations of cell cycle systems. Currently Assistant Professor of Mathematics at University of Wisconsin, Stout.
Andrew DiLullo
B.S. 2007. Project: Using Potential Functions in binary classification. Finished a PhD Physics at Ohio University. Currently: Postdoctoral Researcher at Argonne National Laboratory
Shannon McDonough
B.S. Actuarial Science 2005. Project: Organization of Matlab learning materials. Currently: Biostatistician at SWOG - leading cancer research.
Hans Kicken
B.S. 2003. Project: Computations of Schelling's model of segregation. Currently: Working in the insurance industry in the Charlottesville, Virginia Area.
Russell Francis
B.S. Chemical Engineering 2003 and M.S. Applied Math 2008. Project: Computation of adiabatic invariants under separatrix crossings in Hamiltonian systems. Currently living in Canandaigua, New York and working as a software engineer for Help Scout.
Kiffany Keyes
B.S. Math and B.A. English 2003. Project: Organization of Matlab learning materials. Currently teaching High School in Cleveland.
Linday Eyink
B.S. Visual Communication 2003. Project: Organization of Matlab learning materials. Currently: Works for Apple making maps for iPhones in Berlin, Germany.
Mohamed Usman
M.S. Applied Math 2001. Project: Computation of adiabatic invariants under separatrix crossings in Hamiltonian systems. Currently: Professor of Mathematics, University of Dayton.
Mike Saum
M.S. Applied Math 1999. Project: Parallel computation of observed rotation numbers in dynamical systems. Currently Associate Professor of Mathematics, Georgia Gwinnett College.


Research

General Interest:

Differential Equations and Dynamical Systems. Especially: Global Bifurcation Theory, Random Dynamical Systems and Applications to Biological Systems

Preprints and Publications

Seminar Talks (with Slides)


Current Projects and Sample Publications:

Dynamical Systems on Tensor Approximations

This is a project lead by Martin Mohlenkamp and was funded by the NSF DMS grant #1418787

Transient Dynamics of Block Coordinate Descent in a Valley, M. Mohlenkamp, T. Young, B. Barany. Intl~J~Num Anal Modeling 17 (4) 2020, 557-591.

The Optimization Landscape for Fitting a Rank-2 Tensor with a Rank-1 Tensor, M. Mohlenkamp, G. Xue, T. Young, SIAM J Appl Dyn Sys. 17 (2018), 1432-1477. doi: 10.1137/17M112213X.

Cell Cycle Dynamics and Clustering

This is a very broad project including both applied and pure mathematical parts. The project web site has details. It is a joint project with Erik Bozcko formerly of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and now at Ohio University. It was funded by a Joint DMS/NIGMS Initiative to Support Research in the Area of Mathematical Biology grant NIH-NIGMS R01GM090207.

ODE, RDE and SDE Models of Cell Cycle Dynamics and Clustering in Yeast, Erik M. Boczko, Tomas Gedeon, Chris C. Stowers and T.R. Young, J. Biological Dynamics 4, July 2010, 328–345.

Clustering in Cell Cycle Dynamics with General Responsive/Signaling Feedback, T.R. Young, B. Fernandez, R. Buckalew, G. Moses, E. Boczko, J. Theor. Biology 292 (2012), 103-115.

Cell Cycle Dynamics: Clustering is Universal in Negative Feedback Systems, N. Breitsch, G. Moses, T.R. Young, E. Boczko, J. Math. Biology, 70 (5) (2015), 1151-1175. %50 doi: 10.1007/s00285-014-0786-7.

Instability of the Steady State Solution in Cell Cycle Population Structure Models with Feedback, B. Barany, G. Moses, T. Young, J. Math. Biology. 78 (5) 2019, 1365–1387. doi: 10.1007/s00285-018-1312-0.

Temporal Clustering in Cell Cycle Dynamics, T. Young, K. Prathom, J. Rombouts, Dynamical Systems Magazine, SIAM DSWeb, Jan 2019.

Clusters Tend to be of Equal Size in a Negative Feedback Population Model of Cell Cycle Dynamics, J. Rombouts, K. Prathom, T. Young, SIAM J Appl Dynam Systems, 19 (2) 2020, 1540-1573. doi: 10.1137/19M129070X.

Pulmonary Infection and Immunity

This is joint work with Erik Bozcko and Erin Murphy, Department of Biomedical Sciences in the College of Medicine at Ohio University. We are seeking to develop a new non-invasive monitoring technique, invented by Bozcko, to mitigate ventilator associated pneumonia. We are also seeking to use the monitoring technique as a tool to non-invasively study the human immune system in the lungs.

A Low Dimensional Dynamical Model of the Pulmonary Innate Immune Response to Infection, T.R. Young, R. Buckalew, A.K. May, E.M. Boczko, Math. Biosciences 235 (2012), 189-200. Doi: 10.1016/j.mbs.2011.12.004.

Non-Invasive detection of pulmonary pathogens in ventilator-circuit filters by PCR. R.J. Isaacs, K. Debelak, P.R. Norris, J.M. Jenkins, J.C. Rooks, T.R. Young, A.K. May, E.M. Boczko, Amer. J. Translational Research 4 (1) (2012), 72-82. PMC: 3276378.

Early Treatment Gains for Antibiotic Administration and Within Human Host Time Series Data, E~Boczko, T~Young, Math. Medicine and Biology 35 (2018), 203–224. doi:10.1093/imammb/dqw025

Modularity and other aspects of Neural Networks

This was joint work with the late Valentin Afraimovich, my advisor, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí and Mikhail Rabinovich at the Institute for Nonlinear Science at UC San Diego.

Nonlinear dynamics of emotion-cognition interaction: When emotion does not destroy cognition?, V. Afraimovich, T.R. Young, M.K. Muezzinoglu, M. Rabinovich, Bulletin Mathematical Biology, 73 (2011), 266-284.

Two dimensional heteroclinic attractor in the generalized Lotka-Volterra system. V. Afraimovich, G. Moses, T. Young, Nonlinearity 29 (2016) 1645-1667. doi:10.1088/0951-7715/29/5/1645

Questions about Random Dynamical Systems and Bifurcations with Bounded Noise

This is a joint project with Ale Jan Homburg in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Amsterdam.

Hard bifurcations in dynamical systems with bounded random perturbations, with A.J. Homburg, Regular & Chaotic Dynamics 11 (2006), 247-258.

The Hopf bifurcation with bounded noise, R.T. Botts, A.J. Homburg, T.R. Young, Discrete Cont. Dynam. Systems - A. 32 (2012), 2997-3007.

Random Questions about Dynamical Systems and Bifurcations

My research started in the area of Global Bifurcation Theory of Smooth Dynamical Systems. I continue to be interested in the general theory of dynamical systems. Some recent publications representing this aspect of my research include:

Topological entropies for equivalent smooth flows, W.X.~Sun, T.R. Young and Y.H.~Zhou, Transactions of the American Mathematical Society 361 (2009), 3071-3082.

Higher Order Birkhoff Averages, Thomas Jordan, Vincent Naudot and T.R. Young, Dynamical Systems 361 (2009), 3071-3082..

Signed Distance Function as a Tool for Binary Classification

This project is a joint effort with Erik Bozcko

Comparison of binary classification based on signed distance functions with support vector machines, E.~Boczko, D.~Wu, M.H.~Xie and T.R. Young, Proc. Ohio Collaborative Conference on Bioinformatics, 2006.