George Oster
American mathematical biologist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
George Frederick Oster NAS (April 20, 1940 – April 15, 2018)[1] was an American mathematical biologist, and Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology at University of California, Berkeley.[2][3][4] He made seminal contributions to several varied fields including chaos theory, population dynamics, membrane dynamics and molecular motors.[5] He was a 1985 MacArthur Fellow.
George F. Oster | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 20, 1940 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | April 15, 2018 (aged 77) |
| Education | U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Columbia University University of California, Berkeley |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biology |
| Workplaces | University of California, Berkeley |
| Thesis | High temperature saturated liquid and vapor densities and the critical point of cesium (1967) |
| Charles F. Bonilla | |
Early career
He graduated from Columbia University, with a Ph.D., in Nuclear Engineering in 1967.[6] He was appointed as an assistant professor in at UC Berkeley in 1970.[6] In the early 1970s Oster collaborated with Aharon Katzir-Katchalsky on statistical mechanics.[6] He also collaborated with Alan Perelson and Aharon Katzir-Katchalsky on Network Thermodynamics: the application of Bond Graphs to the thermodynamic modelling of biophysical systems.[7][8]
Oster's work with E. O. Wilson on populations dynamics of social animals, particularly ants, is considered pioneering work in evolution in social insects.[6] Oster was one of the first theoretical biologists to understand that a complex interplay between mechanical and chemical forces was at the root of most biological phenomena.[6]
Later career
He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2004.[9] Oster was a Guggenheim Fellow, and a member of the science board of the Santa Fe Institute.[6]
Awards
- 1975 Guggenheim Fellowship
- 1984 MacArthur Fellows Program
- 1992 Weldon Memorial Prize
- Winfree Prize for Mathematical Biology
- Sackler International Prize in Biophysics
