Maeve Lewis McCarthy

I'm an Applied Mathematician working as 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. I am currently the Executive Director of the Association for Women in Mathematics.

Contact Info

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

2. Phone & Office: (270) 809-2489, 6C-12 Faculty Hall

3. E-mail: mmccarthy@murraystate.edu

Biology and Mathematics in Population Studies (BioMaPS)

We have an 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 and the development of mathematical models for biological phenomena.

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 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 modeled by nonlinear partial differential equations. I have developed methods to identify the unknown parameters in the PDE models.

Recently, I have become interested in the Arizona Tiger Salamander which displays facultative paedomorphosis in certain populations. One morph eats the juveniles, while the other does not. I am currently developing mathematical models to describe this phenomenon.

Research Publications

McCarthy, M., Fister, R. (2010). BioMapS: A Roadmap to Success. CBE Life Sciences Education, 9, 175-180. www.lifescied.org/cgi/reprint/9/3/175.pdf
K. Renee Fister and Maeve L. McCarthy, Identification of a chemotactic sensitivity in a coupled system, Mathematical Medicine and Biology, 25 no. 3 (2008), pp. 215-232. DOI:10.1093/imammb/dqn015 ).(Abstract) (PDF)
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 October 3, 2011