Patrick Murphy
Assistant Professor
patrick.a.murphy@sjsu.edu
MH317
Education
- B.S. Applied Mathematics, Montana State University
- Ph.D. Applied Mathematics, University of Utah
Research Areas
- Applied Mathematics
- Mathematical Biology
- Stochastic Processes
Biography
My interests lie in applying mathematical, statistical, and physical models to biological
problems. In particular, I focus on understanding stochastic processes in cell biology
and emergent phenomena in biological communities. Fascinating examples of such phenomena
appear all around us since cells make up all living organisms, and organisms interact
from as small a scale as bacterial communities all the way up to human populations.
Teasing apart the physical and social rules that generate communal behavior and unraveling
how random fluctuations impact the underlying systems are what drive me. This involves
various methods of approach including but not limited to: agent-based modeling, statistical
methods and probability theory, hybrid discrete-continuous random systems, kinetic
theory, Markovian and non-Markovian processes, and classic differential equations.
I completed my undergraduate degree in Applied Mathematics at Montana State University
along the beautiful Rocky Mountains before completing a Doctorate degree in Applied
Mathematics at the University of Utah along the beautiful Rocky Mountains (bit of
a theme there). I also held a postdoctoral position at the Igoshin Lab in Bioengineering
and the Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, both located in Rice University.
In my spare time, I enjoy finding good food, exploring the outdoors (wherever that
may be), and maybe getting in some progress on more artsy projects.