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People have been worrying about how many people the Earth
can support for thousands of years. In the last 350 years,
according to Cohen, scientists have published more than 60
estimates of the number of people the Earth can support. These
estimates range from fewer than 1 billion to more than 1,000
billion. Professor Cohen will describe the nature and limitations
of the mathematical methods used to derive these estimates.
The Earth's capacity to support people is determined both
by natural constraints and by human choices concerning economics,
environment, culture (including values and politics), and
demography. Human carrying capacity is therefore dynamic and
uncertain. However, human choice is not captured by ecological
notions of carrying capacity that are appropriate for non-human
populations.
Joel E. Cohen is a professor of populations at the Rockefeller
University and Columbia University in New York City and heads
the Laboratory of Populations at Rockefeller and Columbia
University. His research deals with the demography, ecology,
epidemiology and social organization of human and non-human
populations and with mathematical concepts applicable to these
fields. In 1997 he was the first recipient of the Olivia Schieffelin
Nordberg Award "for excellence in writing in the population
sciences," in recognition of his book, How Many People
Can the Earth Support? (1995). In 2002, he received the Mayor's
Award for Excellence in Science and Technology from the City
of New York. In 1997 was elected to the U.S. National Academy
of Sciences and the following year he shared the Fred L. Soper
Prize awarded by the Pan American Health Organization for
his work on Chagas' disease. In 1999, Cohen was the co-recipient
of the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement. His most
recent book is Forecasting Product Liability Claims: Epidemiology
and Modeling in the Manville Asbestos Case (2004).
This series of public lectures, made possible by the generous
support of Nathan and Beatrice Keyfitz, will focus on the
topic of "mathematics and the social sciences" and
will be held annually. Lecturers are selected by a distinguished
international committee consisting of both mathematicians
and social scientists. All lectures are open to the public
and everyone is welcome. The purpose of the series is both
to inform the public of some of the ways quantitative methods
are being used to design solutions to societal problems, and
to encourage dialogue between mathematical and social scientists.
These lectures will be of interest to the university community
as well as to individuals involved in public administration,
economics, health policy, social and political science. See
www.fields.utoronto.ca/programs/scientific/keyfitz_lectures/
for further details.
The Fields Institute, located in Toronto, is recognized as
one of the world's leading independent mathematical research
institutions. With a wide array of pure, applied, industrial,
financial and educational programs, The Fields Institute attracts
over 1,000 visitors annually from every corner of the globe,
to collaborate on leading-edge research programs in the mathematical
sciences. The Field's Institute is funded by the Natural Sciences
and Engineering Research Council, the Ontario Ministry of
Training, Colleges and Universities, seven principal sponsoring
universities, seven affiliate universities and several corporate
sponsors. See www.fields.utoronto.ca
for further details.
| For more information, contact: |
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Communications Officer
Telephone: (416) 348-9710 x3024
E-mail: communications@fields.utoronto.ca
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The Fields Institute
222 College Street
Toronto, Ontario M5T 3J1 |
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Nathan and Beatrice Keyfitz