Call for Applications: Mathematics of Gun Violence, a NIMBioS Investigative Workshop

[Catherine Crawley]

The National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis
(NIMBioS) is now accepting applications for its Investigative Workshop,
"Mathematics of Gun Violence," to be held May 1-3, 2019, at NIMBioS.

*Objectives:* Gun violence is a central public concern in the United
States, annually leading to the deaths of 31,000 individuals and the
non-fatal injuries of 78,000 others. It has been called an epidemic and
a public health crisis. For infectious disease epidemics and associated
public health planning (including recent Zika and Ebola outbreaks),
officials relied on mathematical models to evaluate immediate responses
and develop preventative policies. The construction of policies to curb
the spread of gun violence could benefit from the development of
mathematical models linked with available data. This workshop will bring
together researchers from diverse disciplinary backgrounds to (i) review
the existing approaches on the mathematics and modeling of gun violence,
(ii) identify and prioritize areas in the field that require further
research, (iii) develop cross-disciplinary collaborations to gain new
perspectives, and (iv) suggest research and data-collection that could
assist evidence-based policy recommendations. A direct outcome from this
workshop will be a comprehensive review of existing models on this topic
with suggestions for further effort. It is expected that collaborations
arising from the workshop will result in novel efforts to enhance the
quantitative underpinnings of the science of gun violence.

The workshop will incorporate discussions and critiques of the existing
approaches to gun violence modeling and how these relate to the
objectives for which models could be developed. Comparisons of various
modeling approaches (including dynamical systems, agent-based, spatial,
and statistical) and the parameterization of these models will be
considered. Through discussions of existing and future models, we will
also assess the available data and suggest new data collection.. The
workshop will consider the variety of scales at which models of this
system can be developed and the associated implications at these
different scales. The relationship to models for human behavior,
including those from social psychology and game theory, will be evaluated.

Effective approaches to building a theory of gun violence, which will
then inform a science of gun violence, will require perspectives from
multiple disciplines. The workshop will consider a systems approach that
bring together interacting factors and components operating on multiple
scales of time and space. Attendees will incorporate ideas from various
quantitative fields (including mathematics, computer science,
statistics, and informatics), social science areas (including geography,
psychology, and criminology), and biological disciplines (including
behavior, medicine, and ecology). The necessary research will be
informed by practitioners involved in policy and law enforcement and
will account for ethical issues of social justice and privacy. An
objective is to consider how models might inform potential
interventions, communication formats, educational initiatives, and
control methods.

The workshop will include presentations from participants, a poster
session to indicate the diversity of methods currently being used in the
field, and breakout groups on topics chosen with input from
participants. Participants will be expected to contribute to a review
outlining the current approaches identifying gaps in the literature, and
presenting potential future directions.

*Location:* NIMBioS at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville

*Co-Organizers:* Andrea L. Bertozzi, Mathematics and Mechanical and
Aerospace Engineering, UCLA; Louis J. Gross, Mathematics and Ecology &
Evolutionary Biology, NIMBioS, Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville; Andrew V.
Papachristos, Sociology, Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern
Univ.; Shelby M. Scott, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Univ. of
Tennessee, Knoxville; Martin B. Short, Mathematics, Georgia Tech

For more information about the workshop and a link to the online
application form, go to http://www.nimbios.org/workshops/WS_gunviolence

Participation in NIMBioS workshops is by application only. Individuals
with a strong interest in the topic are encouraged to apply, and
successful applicants will be notified within two weeks after the
application deadline. If needed, financial support for travel, meals,
and lodging is available for workshop attendees.

*Application deadline: November 30, 2018*

The National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis
(NIMBioS) (http://www.nimbios.org) brings together researchers from
around the world to collaborate across disciplinary boundaries to
investigate solutions to basic and applied problems in the life
sciences. NIMBioS is supported by the National Science Foundation, with
additional support from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

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