Speaker: Aswin Gopakumar
Title of the talk: Evolution Through the Lens of Mathematics
Broad area of research: Mathematical modelling of evolutionary dynamics/ Mathematical modelling and analysis
Date: 07/10/2025
Time: 4 pm IST
Venue: Madhava Lecture hall, MSB
Abstract: In 1859, Charles Darwin proposed that individuals better adapted to their environment are more likely to reproduce and pass on their heritable traits, leading over time to the emergence of new species. This idea gave rise to the theory of evolution, which has since expanded into multiple theoretical frameworks. About five decades ago, the mathematical biologist John Maynard Smith used game theory as a tool to understand cooperation among animals, a phenomenon that seemed at odds with the Darwinian principle of survival of the fittest. This work marked the beginning of evolutionary game theory. Two decades later, the field of adaptive dynamics emerged to study the long-term consequences of small mutations in phenotypic traits. In this talk, I will provide an overview of evolutionary game theory and adaptive dynamics and present my project on modelling evolution using a spatially explicit consumer–resource model.