Carlos Castillo-Chavez

     Carlos Castillo-Chavez is a Regents Professor, a Joaquin Bustoz Jr. Professor of Mathematical Biology, and a Distinguished Sustainability Scientist at Arizona State University. Carlos Castillo-Chavez' research program is carried out at the interface of the mathematical and natural and social sciences and puts emphasis on (i) the role of dynamic social landscapes on disease dispersal; (ii) the role of behavior on disease evolution, (iii) the role of behavior, environmental and social structures on the dynamics of addiction, (iv) the identification of mechanisms that facilitate the spread of diseases across multiple levels of organization. Carlos Castillo-Chavez has co-authored over two hundred publications, edited several volumes of research articles, and co-authored a textbook in Mathematical Biology in 2001; second edition forthcoming in 2012. He edited a volume (with Tom Banks) on the use of mathematical models in homeland security published in SIAM's Frontiers in Applied Mathematics Series (2003); co-edited volumes in the Series Contemporary Mathematics entitled “Mathematical Studies on Human Disease Dynamics: Emerging Paradigms and Challenges” (American Mathematical Society, 2006) and Mathematical and Statistical Estimation Approaches in Epidemiology (Springer-Verlag, 2009) highlighting his interests in the applications of mathematics in emerging and re-emerging diseases. Castillo-Chavez is a member of the Santa Fe Institute's external faculty, adjunct professor at Cornell University, and contributor, as a member of the Steering Committee of the “Committee for the Review of the Evaluation Data on the Effectiveness of NSF-Supported and Commercially Generated Mathematics Curriculum Materials,” to a 2004 NRC report.
         On July 1st, 2008, Castillo-Chavez became the founding director of the Mathematical, Computational and Modeling Sciences Center and the graduate field in Applied Mathematics in the Life and Social Sciences or AMLSS at ASU. The AMLSS PhD degree has graduated 8 students, including 6 students who are members of underrepresented groups. Castillo-Chavez is also the Executive Director of the Mathematical and Theoretical Biology Institute or MTBI and The Institute for Strengthening the Understanding of Mathematics and Science or SUMS. Castillo-Chavez’ undergraduate/graduate summer program (established in 1996) was recognized as a “Mathematics Program that Makes a Difference” by the American Mathematical Society in 2007 and by the 2011 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring. SUMS’ efforts were recognized with a Presidential Mentorship Award in 2002.
          Castillo-Chavez’ efforts resulted in the establishment of the David Blackwell and Richard Tapia Distinguished Lecture Series in 2000 and the co-establishment of the David Blackwell and Richard Tapia Award two years later with David Eisenbud. Castillo-Chavez spent 18 years at Cornell University (1985-2003) in the departments of Biological Statistics and Computational Biology (BSCB) and Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (TAM).  Castillo-Chavez’s recognitions include two White House Awards: Presidential Faculty Fellowship Award in 1992 and a Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring in 1997; the 2002 Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) Distinguished Scientist Award; the 2003 Richard Tapia Award, and is the 12th recipient of the American Mathematical Society Distinguished Public Service Award (01-14-2010).  Castillo-Chavez held the 2003 Stanislaw M. Ulam Distinguished Scholar position at the Center for Nonlinear Studies (CNLS) in Los Alamos National Laboratory. He was named honorary professor at Xi'an Jiaotong University in China (2004) and honorary professor at the School of Public Health, East Tennessee State University (2010). He has been elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, fellow of the American College of Epidemiology. Castillo-Chavez is the recipient of the 2007 AAAS Mentor award.  Castillo-Chavez has had 22 PhD students (including 11 US Latinos and 9 women), he has mentored 23 postdoctoral researchers; and hundreds of undergraduates.
          Castillo-Chavez was a member of the Arizona Governor’s P-20 Council’s Mathematics Alignment Team in 2008-09. He is currently a member of three scientific mathematical sciences advisory boards at The National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS), the Statistical and Applied Mathematics Sciences Institute (SAMSI), and Banff International Research Station (BIRS). Castillo-Chavez is a member of National Research Council’s Board of Higher Education and Workforce or BHEW (2009-2011); President Obama appointed Carlos Castillo-Chavez to the President’s Committee on the National Medal of Science for the period 2010-2012.