Bryn Mawr College

Nonlinear Dynamics Group 2001-2002:

Alfonso Albano; Peter Brodfuehrer (BMC Biology Department); Paul Rapp (Medical College of Pennsylvania - Hahnemann University); Chris Celluci (BMC Ph.D. '98, now teaching at Ursinus College); Steve Hess (Ph.D. student); Erin Schwamb '02.

Alfonso M. Albano

Marion Reilly Professor of Physics Emeritus. B.S., University of Philippines; M.S., University of Iowa; Ph.D., State University of New York at Stony Brook (1969).
Nonlinear Dynamics, Chaos.

Recent developments in nonlinear dynamics have made available some techniques for the analysis of complex spatial and temporal behavior. We use these techniques in the study of biomedical data. Current projects are: (1) Development and refinement of algorithems for the calculation of quantitative measures of complex spatial and temporal behavior and for the identification and classification of complex systems; (2) charaterization of signals from single neurons, electroencephalographic (EEG) and electromyographic (EMG) signals; (3) studies of the feasibility of using measures of complex behaviour as diagnostic tools, to characterize changes in behavior induced by pathology or changes in experimental conditions, and to compare experimentally observed behavior with predictions of mathematical models, (4) Nonlinear analysis of electrophysiological signals associated with the swimming reflex in the medicinal leech. These projects are being undertaken in collaboration with a number of colaborators at Bryn Mawr, elsewhere in the country, and abroad.

Selected Publications

C. J. Cellucci, A. M. Albano, P. E. Rapp, R. A. Pittenger, and R. C. Josiassen, "Detecting noise in a time series," Chaos 7 (1997) 414-422.

S. M. Hess and A. M. Albano, "Minimum requirements for stochastic resonance in threshold systems," International Journal of Bifurcation and Chaos, 8 (1998) 395-400.

C. J. Cellucci, P.D. Brodfuehrer, R. Acera-Pozzi, H. Dobrovolny, E. Engler, J. Los, R. Thompson and A.M.Albano, "Linear and nonlinear measures predict swimming in the leach," Physical Review E, 62 (2000) 4826-4834.

A. M. Albano, C. J. Cellucci, R. N. Harner and P. E. Rapp, "Optimization of Embedding Parameters for Prediction of Seizure Onset with Mutual Information," in Nonlinear Dynamics and Statistics, A. I. Mees, editor (Birkhauser, Boston, 2001).

P. E. Rapp, C. J. Cellucci, T. A. A. Watanabe, A. M. Albano and T. I. Schmah, "Surrogate data pathologies and the false-positive rejection of the null hypothesis," International Journal of Bifurcation and Chaos, 11 (2001) 983-997.

Student work

On May 1 2000, Hanna Dobrovolny successfully defended her master's paper: Nonlinear Time Series Analysis.

2000-2002

Tammy Metz '03: Coupled Nonlinear Maps
Emma Hadad '02: Coupled Chay Neurons
Emily Belzer '03: Cross-correlation analysis of sleep EEG
Ahmed Rashed (graduate student): Mutual information analysis of sleep EEG