9455719 Hadlock Through the sponsorship of the Mathematical Sciences Department, Bentley College has recently developed a new interdisciplinary course entitled "Modeling Applications in Environmental Management." This course serves a wide range of students and has a dual objective: to teach them about the complex range of everyday environmental issues that are faced by business and governmental organizations, and to give the students first hand experience in the key role that mathematical modeling plays in dealing with these issues. The course has a significant field component that includes visits to operating companies and government installations. The purpose of this grant application is to develop textbook materials and teaching guidance that would enable a wide range of teachers primarily at the college level, but also at the high school level, to incorporate some or all of the same material in offerings at their own institutions. The course developer has spent many years in industry applying mathematical models to environmental problems and is in a unique position to develop and organize such materials for use in the classroom. In fact, this course has already attracted considerable attention outside the College, and many invitations have been received to speak about the course itself and to provide further material that might make it possible for others to teach this subject matter. Thus the purpose of this proposal is to provide support for the development of high quality materials to support the inclusion of this material in courses at various levels and at various kinds of institutions, to train a pilot group of teachers in its use, and to initiate and promote the further dissemination process through the academic community.
