Civic Engagement via Differential Equations

Introduction

"What are some problems facing the world today?" This provocative question has become the standard opening gambit in my mathematics teaching. Students' responses include: climate change, terrorism, HIV/AIDS, Asian flu, energy dependence, overpopulation, animal extinctions, and pollution. I go on to explain that a major goal of our course will be to see how mathematics can be used to address these important societal issues. All too often, mathematics courses focus exclusively on the mathematical content without making linkages to such larger issues. I describe here ways in which I make such real-world linkages in more advanced mathematics courses: calculus, and particularly differential equations.