Gerardo Chowell-Puente traveled to the presidential residence Los Pinos in Mexico City to claim one of the 2002 National Prizes for Youth awarded by the Mexican Institute of Youth or Instituto Mexicano de la Juventud. The prize recognizes Chowell-Puente's cumulative academic activities, including research, publications, invited talks, awards and community service. Fox gave him a signed diploma, a gold medal and 110,000 Mexican pesos (more than $9,800).
Using mathematical models, Chowell-Puente and his Los Alamos colleagues studied the recent epidemic of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, in Ontario, Hong Kong and Singapore. In their research, they estimated the levels of isolation and diagnosis rates needed to control outbreaks of SARS. Their models validated rapid intervention by Ontario public health officials in March that averted a catastrophic epidemic. Their findings were published recently in the Journal of Theoretical Biology.
In addition, Chowell-Puente has worked with his doctoral adviser, Carlos Castillo-Chavez, in the field of homeland security, defining worst-case scenarios for the deliberate release of biological agents. He is co-author of a chapter in the book "Bioterrorism: Mathematical Approaches for Homeland Security," edited by Tom Banks and Castillo-Chavez and scheduled for publication next month.
A third-year doctoral student at Cornell University in the Biological Statistics and Computational Biology Department, Chowell-Puente came to Los Alamos in the summer of 2002 as a graduate research assistant working with James (Mac) Hyman in Mathematical Modeling and Analysis. In January, 2004, he will begin a year-long term in Los Alamos' Center for Nonlinear Studies.
"My experiences at Los Alamos made it possible for me to attain this high honor," Chowell-Puente said. "I hope to merit the recognition of my countrymen through further research that benefits the health of Mexico and the battle against emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases worldwide."
Chowell-Puente is co-author of "Scaling Laws for the Movement of People between Locations in a Large City," in press for the journal Physical Review E, along with five other technical reports.
"Gerardo's outstanding achievement reflects positively on the Laboratory and his research promises benefits for mankind," said Alan Bishop, Theoretical Division leader. "Challenging gifted students like Gerardo with tough multidisciplinary projects such as modeling epidemics is crucial to Los Alamos' strategy of mentoring the next generation of scientists to solve problems of national and global importance."
Castillo-Chavez, who is the 2003 Ulam Scholar in Los Alamos' Center for Nonlinear Studies, began his collaboration with Chowell-Puente when the latter was a junior at the Universidad de Colima, Mexico, where he earned his bachelor's degree in computer science and telecommunications.
"His creativity, discipline, enthusiasm and dedication have been a source of inspiration to his fellow students as well as to me," said Castillo-Chavez. "His interactions at Los Alamos, particularly those with Mac Hyman and Paul Fenimore, have allowed him to expand his horizons, his tool kit and his imagination."
Castillo-Chavez said he nominated Chowell-Puente for the National Prize last year in recognition of his research on population dynamics and scaling laws for the social mobility network in Portland, Ore. as part of the Laboratory's TRANSIMS program. Chowell-Puente collaborated with Hyman, Castillo-Chavez and Stephen Eubank on that research.
"This year, his work on SARS and EpiSims, all carried out at Los Alamos, put him at the top," Castillo-Chavez said.
Chowell-Puente was born in Leon Guanajuato, Mexico, and lived most of his life in the city of Colima.
He is a participant in the Mathematical and Theoretical Biology Institute, currently located at CNLS, which provides undergraduate and graduate students research experiences at the interface of mathematics, statistics and the social and natural sciences, especially the application of mathematics to biology. Participants in MTBI have published 72 technical reports, won multiple awards from the American Mathematical Society, the Mathematical Association of America and the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in the Sciences. Castillo-Chavez, who heads the Institute, said MTBI currently hosts about 30 participants, 20 of whom are undergraduates.
Established by the Mexican legislature in 1998, the Institute of Youth is a federal agency that promotes participation by young people aged 12 to 29 in improving the social, cultural and living standards for the Mexican nation and its 34 million youth.
Los Alamos' Center for Nonlinear Studies identifies and studies fundamental nonlinear problems and promotes the use of the results in applied research; stimulates interdisciplinary research and information exchanges; and provides a focal point for collaborations with other centers of excellence in nonlinear science. Major CNLS research areas include biological physics, statistical physics and nonequlibrium statistical mechanics, turbulence, geophysics, and condensed matter physics.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and Washington Group International for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.