Nicolas Rashevsky

Nicolas Rashevsky

Nicolas Rashevsky

(1899- 1973): American physicist and mathematical biologist who was the Founder of

Mathematical Biophysics

and Mathematical Biology, and also Professor of Mathematical Biophysics at the University of Chicago in the Committee for Mathematical Biology until 1968. He established also the first Mathematical Biophysics journal, the Bulletin of Mathematical Biophysics, later changed under his editorship to “Bulletin of Mathematical Biology” to emphasize the transition towards

abstract relational biology

and relational theory of

organismic sets

beyond numerical and analytical

functions

characteristic

of simple physical systems. His later efforts focused on

topology

of biological systems and the formulation of fundamental principles in biology and hierarchical organization of organisms and human societies.

Rashevsky’s numerous publications and basic textbooks span almost half a century; among his first published papers was a physical, probabilistic treatment of molecular diffusion using a different approach from that of

Albert Einstein

’s but with

similar

, concurrent

solutions

to the same problem.

Some of his closest coworkers were: George Karreman (former Professor at the University of Pennsylvania), Herbert Landahl (former Professor at the University of California),

Robert Rosen

(his mathematics PhD student and later Professor of Biophysics at Dalhousie University), and Anthony Bartholomay (former Chairman of the Mathematical Medicine Department at Ohio State University).

References

1

N. Rashevsky.: 1965, The

Representation

of Organisms in Terms of

Predicates

,

Bulletin of Mathematical Biophysics

27

: 477-491.

2

N. Rashevsky.: 1969, Outline of a Unified Approach to Physics, Biology and Sociology.,

Bulletin of Mathematical Biophysics

31

: 159–198.

3

Baianu, I.C.: 1980,

Natural Transformations of Organismic Structures

.,

Bulletin of Mathematical Biology

,

42

: 431-446.

4

Elsasser, M.W.: 1981, A Form of Logic Suited for Biology., In: Robert, Rosen, ed.,

Progress in Theoretical Biology

, Volume 6, Academic Press, New York and London, pp 23-62.

5

Baianu, I. C.: 1986–1987, Computer Models and Automata Theory in Biology and Medicine., in M. Witten (ed.),

Mathematical Models in Medicine

, vol. 7., Ch.11 Pergamon Press, New York, 1513 -1577; URLs:

http://en.scientificcommons.org/1857371

CERN Preprint No. EXT-2004-072:.

6

Baianu I. C., Brown R., Georgescu G. and J. F. Glazebrook: 2006b, Complex Nonlinear Biodynamics in

Categories

,

Higher Dimensional Algebra

and Łukasiewicz–Moisil Topos:

Transformations

of Neuronal, Genetic and Neoplastic Networks.,

Axiomathes

,

16

Nos. 1–2: 65–122.

7

Rosen, R.: 1958a, A Relational Theory of Biological Systems

Bulletin of Mathematical Biophysics

20

: 245-260.

8

Rosen, R.: 1958b, The Representation of Biological Systems from the Standpoint of the
Theory of Categories.,

Bulletin of Mathematical Biophysics

20

: 317-341.

9

Rosen, R. 1960. A quantum-theoretic approach to genetic problems.

Bulletin of Mathematical Biophysics

22: 227-255.

Title

Nicolas Rashevsky

Canonical

name

NicolasRashevsky

Date of creation

2013-03-22 18:18:54

Last modified on

2013-03-22 18:18:54

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bci1 (20947)

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bci1 (20947)

Numerical id

11

Author

bci1 (20947)

Entry type

Biography

Classification

msc 01A99

Classification

msc 01A60

Classification

msc 01A70

Related topic

AbstractRelationalBiology

Related topic

MathematicalBiology

Related topic

RobertRosen

Related topic

OrganismicSets3

Related topic

CategoryOfSets

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OrganismicSets2

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OrganismicSetTheory

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