Maeve Lewis McCarthy

I'm an Applied Mathematician working as an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics at Murray State University. I’m originally from Galway, Ireland and received my BSc and MSc in Mathematical Physics from the National University of Ireland, Galway. I received an MA and a PhD in Computational and Applied Mathematics from Rice University.

Contact Info

1. US Mail: Mathematics & Statistics, 6C Faculty Hall, Murray State University, Murray KY 42071-3341

2. Phone & Office: (270) 809-2489, 6C-7 Faculty Hall

3. E-mail: maeve.mccarthy@murraystate.edu

Schedule Spring 2008

Feel free to come to office hours to ask questions. If my office hours and your schedule are incompatible, I am happy to set up an appointment at another time. Just let me know!

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
8:30		Office Hour		Office Hour
9:00		Office Hour		Office Hour
9:30		MAT 117		MAT 117
10:00		MAT 117		MAT 117
10:30		MAT 117		MAT 117
11:00
11:30
12:00				Meeting
12:30	MAT 411		MAT 411	Meeting	MAT 411
1:00	MAT 411		MAT 411		MAT 411
1:30	Office Hour		Office Hour
2:00	Office Hour	MAT 117	Office Hour	MAT 117
2:30	Office Hour	MAT 117	Office Hour	MAT 117
3:00		MAT 117		MAT 117
3:30	MAT 460		MAT 460	Meeting
4:00	MAT 460		MAT 460	Meeting
4:30			MAT 460

Tablet PCs

I freely admit to being a tech junkie. I consider my teaching to be extremely important. The connection between those two comments is through the use of Tablet PCs in my teaching. I have been working for several years with the MSU Tablet PC group to use Tablet PCs and other wireless technology to enhance the learning experience for our students. By accommodating different learning styles, we can mathematics more accessible to more students. Take my class – you’ll see what I mean!

Biology and Mathematics in Population Studies (BioMaPS)

We have a new Undergraduate Research program at MSU. There are lots of great opportunities for students to learn more about the intersection of mathematics & biology.

BioMaPS Seminar

I am the coordinator for our BioMaPS Seminar. If you are interested in learning more about the seminar, attending or speaking – let me know!

My Research Interests

My main research interests are inverse problems in differential equations. Inverse Problems involve the use of optimization techniques to determine model parameters from available data. I am particularly interested in applications involving eigenvalues. In mechanical problems, eigenvalues represent vibrational information. The mathematics involves Sturm-Liouville problems and singular techniques.

In biological applications, eigenvalues often represent growth rate information. We use capture-mark-recapture methods, projection matrix models and linear algebra to estimate biological properties like fecundity

I’m also fascinated by the biological phenomenon known as chemotaxis. This involves the movement of cells based on their attraction to or repulsion by a chemical. Mathematically, this is modelled by nonlinear partial differential equations. I am developing methods to identify the unknown parameters in the PDE models.

Research Publications

K. Renee Fister and Maeve L. McCarthy, Mathematics instruction and the tablet PC, International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, to appear (DOI: 10.1080/00207390701690303).(Abstract) (PDF)
Don Hinton, Maeve L. McCarthy, Optimization of the minimum eigenvalue for a class of second order differential operators, Recent Advances in Differential Equations and Mathematical Physics, Nikolai Chernov, Yulia Karpeshina, Ian W. Knowles, Roger T. Lewis, and Rudi Weikard, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Editors - AMS, 2006, pp. 207-226. (Abstract) (PDF)
K. Renee Fister, Maeve L. McCarthy and Seth F. Oppenheimer, The identification of a time dependent parameter from a soil column experiment, SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics, 66 no. 4 (2006) pp. 1407-1423. (Abstract) (PDF)
Brandon M. Hale and Maeve L. McCarthy, An Introduction to Population Ecology, Journal of Online Mathematics.
Robert Butera, Maeve L. McCarthy, Analysis of real-time numerical integration methods applied to dynamic clamp experiments, Journal of Neural Engineering 1 (2004) pp. 187-194. (Abstract) (PDF)
Ian W. Knowles, Maeve L. McCarthy, Isospectral membranes: a connection between shape and density, J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 37 (2004) pp. 8103-8109. (Abstract) (PDF)
C. Maeve McCarthy, William Rundell, The inverse eigenparameter dependent Sturm-Liouville problem, Numerical Functional Analysis and Optimization, 24 no. 1-2 (2003) pp. 85-106. (Abstract) (PDF)
Boris P. Belinskiy, C. Maeve McCarthy, Terry J. Walters, Optimal turbines in the absence of an attached mass, European Series in Applied and Industrial Mathematics: Control, Optimisation and Calculus of Variations, 9 (2003), pp. 217-230. (Abstract) (PDF)
K. Renee Fister, C. Maeve McCarthy, Optimal control of a chemotaxis problem, Quarterly of Applied Mathematics, 61 (2003), pp. 193-211. (Abstract) (PDF)
C. Maeve McCarthy, Reconstruction of an impedance in two-dimensions from spectral data, Applicable Analysis, 81 (2002), pp. 1161-1177. (Abstract) (PDF)
C. Maeve McCarthy, The inverse eigenvalue problem for a weighted Helmholtz equation, Applicable Analysis, 77 no. 1-2 (2001), pp. 77-96. (Abstract) (PDF)
C. Maeve McCarthy, The Optimal Design of Tubular Structures, Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics, 114 no. 1 (2000). (Abstract) (PDF)
S. Lenhart, C. M. McCarthy (Editors), Control of Partial Differential Equations, Special Issue, Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics, 114 no. 1 (2000).
C. Maeve McCarthy, Recovery of a density from the eigenvalues of a nonhomogeneous membrane, Proceedings of Inverse Problems in Engineering: Theory and Practice, 3rd International Conference on Inverse Problems in Engineering, June 13-18, 1999, Port Ludlow, Washington. (Abstract) (PDF)
C. Maeve McCarthy, The Tallest Column -- Optimality Revisited, Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics, 101 no. 1-2 (1999), pp 27-37. (Abstract) (PDF)
Steven J. Cox, C. Maeve McCarthy, The shape of the tallest column, SIAM Journal on Mathematical Analysis, 29 no. 3 (1998). pp. 547-554. (Abstract) (PDF1, PDF2)

Non-Research Publications

Teaching Excellence: Sharing Part of Yourself, MSU Teaching Chronicles, Fall 2005, no. 1. http://racernet.murraystate.edu/mstc/

Mathematical Organizations

| College of Science Engineering & Technology |

Modified February 26,2008