Mathematical Modeling in the Social and Life Sciences

Acknowledgements

I am very pleased to express my appreciation and gratitude to the many people who motivated the writing of this book and assisted in its development and production.

My interest in mathematical model building traces back to undergraduate years at the University of Michigan. There I was fortunate to be able to study mathematical psychology with Clyde Coombs and general systems with Kenneth Boulding. Another strong Ann Arbor influence was Anatol Rapoport whose book Fights, Games and Debates first led me to attempt a classroom presentation of Richardson's arms race model. Professor Rapoport carefully reviewed the entire manuscript of a very early draft of this book. His many valuable comments, criticisms, and suggestions resulted in a number of important revisions.

Grants over the years from the National Science Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation New Liberal Arts Program, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Ada Howe Kent Fund provided opportunities to learn and to write. Middlebury College generously gave me many resources to develop and finish this project, including academic leaves, travel support, materials, and support for student research assistants. My mathematics colleagues at Middlebury over the past four decades have sustained a most wonderful environment in which to teach and do mathematics.

Acknowledgments for many other helpful remarks are due to the individuals who examined part or all of the text at various ...