Abba Gumel, University of Maryland, College Park

Abstract

Several Africa-based researchers (notably Edward Lungu then of the University of Botswana and his team) attended the AMS-IMS-SIAM Joint Research Summer Conference on "Competitive Mathematical Models of Disease Dynamics: Emerging Paradigms and Challenges" we co-hosted in Snowbird, Utah, 2005.  At this meeting, Simon Levin suggested that we try to run similar events in Africa. He then connected us with Fred Roberts, who formed the US-Africa Partnership in Biomathematics (in conjuction with research centers in the US and in Africa) aimed at training and empowering US and African students, as well as junior researchers/scientists, and public health practitioners, on the use of mathematical sciences approaches and data analytics to model the spread and control of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases that are relevant to the continent of Africa.  The Partnership, which ran a series of research, training,  and mentoring programs (in the form of a series of targeted Advanced Studies Institutes and workshops) mostly across sub-Saharan Africa (and the US too), achieved unprecedented success (by empowering countless trainees and junior scientists in Africa and the US).  This lecture briefly summarizes Fred's amazing visionary leadership, hardwork, and tireless effort that made this possible, and some discussion on some of the specific projects that came out of the activities of the Partnership Fred formed.