Magda Stolarka, Department of Mathematics, University of St. Thomas Title: Mathematical Models of Mechanical Aspects in Growing and Moving Biological Systems Abstract: Living organisms are amazing in their complexity and function. However, the complexity, which partially arises from the fact that living organisms often grow and move, makes their function difficult to fully understand. Furthermore, experiments can only address small components of a living organism's internal machinery, and as a result mathematical modeling is necessary to put the disparate experimental data together so that one can understand the big picture of how an organism works. The work discussed in this talk will focus on formulating mathematical models, based on concepts from continuum mechanics, that help us understand how growth and movement affect mechanical stresses within biological organisms, and how these stresses that have the potential to affect biological function. We will cover models of single cell movement, cancerous tumor growth, and brain development and discuss how very similar mathematical principles and modeling approaches can be used to understand a variety of biological systems.