UNCERTAINTY AND VARIABILITY IN ECOLOGICAL INFERENCE, FORECASTING, AND DECISION MAKING: AN INTRODUCTION TO MODERN STATISTICAL COMPUTATION
COURSE OVERVIEW: An 11-day summer institute will introduce ecologists and earth scientists to modern statistical computation techniques. Ecological inference and forecasting are limited by large and diverse sources of variability that operate at a range of scales. Hierarchical Bayes and Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation provide powerful tools for analyzing processes characterized by multiple sources of uncertainty and variability. Leading statisticians and ecologists will provide day-long presentations and hands-on training with computation techniques. The Summer School will convene at Duke University¹s Center on Global Change in the Nicholas School of the Environment. The course website can be found at: http://www.bioed.org/forecasting/ AUDIENCE: Graduate students and postdocs DATES OF COURSE: June 11 - 21, 2006 TO APPLY: The ON-LINE application period will run from November 10 to January 10. Participants will be notified by the end of January. Apply on-line by following this URL: http://www.bioed.org/forecasting/application.aspx. INSTITUTE FORMAT: Half-day lectures each by a different leader in the field Afternoon and evening tutorials Computer labs TECHNICAL TOPICS COVERED: Thinking conditionally: deconstructing & reconstructing complex problems Bayesian techniques Graphical/hierarchical modeling Computation using Gibbs sampling LECTURERS INCLUDE: Subir Banerjee, University of Minnesota Jim Clark, Duke University Montse Fuentes, North Carolina State University Alan Gelfand, Duke University Ken Reckhow, Duke University Chris Wikle, University of Missouri ORGANIZERS: James S. Clark, H.L. Blomquist Professor Nicholas School of the Environment & Dept Biology A221 LSRC Duke University Durham, NC 27708 919-613-8036 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.biology.duke.edu/clarklab/ Carol Brewer Associate Professor Division of Biological Sciences University of Montana Missoula MT 59812 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.BioEd.org Leah Rutchick Center on Global Change Box 90658 // A-150 LSRC Duke University Durham, NC 27708 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Phone: 919-681-7180 Fax: 919-681-7176 FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Leah Rutchick at the numbers or e-mail provided above.
