Bori (Borbala) Mazzag, PhD Department of Mathematics
Humboldt State University
1 Harpst St
Arcata, CA 95521
707-826-4952
University of California, Davis. M.S., 2000, Ph.D., 2002, Applied Mathematics. Advisor: Alexander Mogilner. Dissertation: “Mathematical Models in Biology”
University of California, Santa Cruz. B.S., 1995, Mathematics. Senior thesis advisor: Maria Schonbek. Senior thesis: “A study of the Lotka-Volterra equations”
College of William and Mary, Department of Applied Science, 2003-2004. Research area: mathematical modeling of calcium-dynamics. Advisor: Gregory D. Smith.
University of Utah, Department of Mathematics, 2004-2005. Research area: computational cell biology. Advisor: Gregory D. Smith. Mentor: James Keener
Academic positions
Humboldt State University Department Chair, August 2017 – present
Full Professor, September 2016 – present.
Associate Professor, September 2012 to August 2015.
Assistant Professor, August 2005 - August 2012.
Lecturer, August 2002 – August 2003.
Georgetown University Medical Research Assistant, October 2000 – March 2001.
Center & Dept. of Neuroscience
UC Davis, Dept of Mathematics Associate Instructor, March 1998 – December 1999.
Teaching Assistant, September 1996 – June 2001.
Research Assistant with Mogliner and Barakat
Open Society Institute, Hungary Admin. Assist. to the Director of Finance, Jan. - Aug. 1996.
Cabrillo College Tutor, Mathematics Tutoring Lab, June 1995- December 1995
UC Santa Cruz, Department of Teaching Assistant, September 1994 – June 1995
Mathematics Tutor, September 1994 – June 1995
Leadership positions
Vice President, CSU Math Council. August 2019-present. I was elected to be the Vice President to the council of the Mathematics Department Chairs of the 23-campus CSU system. The Vice President works with the President to establish and agenda for the Math Council meetings, takes a lead in communications between CSU Chancellors Office and the Math Council.
BioSigmaa Program Chair. January 2019-present. I serve as an officer in charge of designing and implementing the programming for the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) faculty interest group in Mathematical Biology.
CSUPERB. California State University Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology, Strategic Planning Council(SPC) 2014-2019, Faculty Consensus Group (FCG) member 2006-2014. FCG and SPC members are elected in university- and CSU system-wide elections, respectively. Members serve on grant review panels and research award committees, help organize the symposium and act as liaisons to their campus. As part of the FCG, I organized the Quantitative Biology Networking Group, with the goal of improving quantitative training for Biology students. I organized sessions for the group at the CSUPERB Symposium in January 2013, 2014, then co-organized sessions in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Mathematics Department and Computer Science Department Chair. Fall 2017-present. In addition to the regular Chair duties, such as scheduling and supervising the adjunct teaching staff, I led the Mathematics Department five-year program review (in 2017-18), helped implement general education assessment in introductory Mathematics courses, and led various initiatives to improve student success in introductory Mathematics courses. In 2017-18, I co-chaired the Math Remedial Taskforce that designed a new introductory Mathematics curriculum in response to Executive Order 1110 that mandated all CSU campuses to end remedial education. In 2018-19, I oversaw the continued implementation and assessment of this curriculum. In 2019-20, led the creation of an External Advisory Council for the Computer Science Department.
Search Committee Chair, Dean of CNRS. 2018-19. I chaired the committee that reviewed applications and interviewed candidates for the new Dean of the College. As Chair, I was responsible for some of the organizational and logistic aspects of the committee's work.
HSU Sponsored Programs Foundation Board of Directors. Fall 2008- Spring 2012. I served on the Incentives Committee, reviewing grant proposals, chaired the Finance Committee and served as Treasurer. The Finance Committee passed a policy on indirect cost rate under my leadership. I also served on the search committee for the Executive Director for the SP Foundation.
Larripa, K, Mazzag, B. "Leveraging the Mathematical Contest in Modeling to Enhance the Undergraduate STEM Experience". (2018). PRIMUS, 26 (5). DOI: 10.1080/10511970.2018.1490359
Larripa, K, Mazzag, B: “A modular approach to teaching mathematical modeling in biotechnology in the undergraduate curriculum”, (2016). PRIMUS, 26(5), 485-504.
Mazzag, B., Gouget, C.L.M., Hwang,Y., Barakat, A.I., “Mechanical Force Transmission via the Cytoskeleton in Vascular Endothelial Cells”, “Endothelial Cytoskeleton”, Rosado, J.A., Redondo, P.C., (editors), CRC Press/Taylor and Francis Group, 2013. (invited chapter)
Peterson*, J.M., Stobb*, M., Mazzag, B., Gahtan, E.,“Computational Graph Theoretical Model of the Zebrafish Sensorimotor Pathway” (2012). AIP Conference Proceedings, “Advances in Mathematical and Computational Methods: Addressing Modern Challenges of Science, Technology and Society”, Vol. 1368, pp 139-142.
Stobb, M., Peterson, J.M., Mazzag B., Gahtan E., “Graph theoretical model of a sensorimotor connectome in zebrafish”, (2012). PLoS ONE,7(5): e37292. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0037292
Mazzag, B., Barakat, A.I., “The effect of noisy flow on endothelial cell mechanotransduction: a computational study”, (2011). Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 39(2):911-21.
Cooper, Z., Greenwood, M., Mazzag, B., "A computational analysis of localized calcium-dynamics generated by heterogeneous release site," (2009). Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, 71(7): 1543-73.
Gallegos, A., Mazzag, B., Mogilner, A. "Two continuum models for the spreading of myxobacterial swarm", (2006). Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, 68(4), 837-61.
Mazzag, B., Tignanelli, C.,Smith, G.D. "The effect of residual Ca2+ on the stochastic gating on Ca2+-regulated Ca2+ channel models", (2005). Journal of Theoretical Biology, 235:121-150.
Mazzag, B., Zhulin, I, Mogilner, A. "Model of Bacterial Band Formation in Aerotaxis," (2003). Biophys.J.,85(6):3558-3574.
Mazzag, B, Tamaresis, J.S., Barakat, A.I., "A Model for Shear Stress Sensing and Transmission in Vascular Endothelial Cells," (2003). Biophys.J., 84(6):4087- 4101.
Presentations
Treisman, U., Glass, J, Mazzag, B., O'Sullivan, M., Unfried, A., "Advancing Mathematics Education at Scale", Joint Mathematics Meeting, invited CSU Math panel, Jan. 2020.
Mazzag, B., "Corequisite Courses and the STEM Pathway", Joint Mathematics Meeting, contributed paper, January 2020.
Mazzag, B., "Linking Introductory Mathematics Courses to the Life Sciences", MathFest, Session: Mathematics and the Life Sciences: Initiatives, Program, Curricula, Aug. 2019.
Mazzag, B., "Outcomes and Assessment in the New GE Math Curriculum", Feb. 2019, First Reflections Meeting for Nor. Cal. CSU campuses co-organized by the Dana Center and the CSU Chancellors' Office.
Mazzag, B., "Optimization inspired by biology: parameter fitting using the genetic algorithm", HSU Mathematics Colloquium,January 2016.
Mazzag, B., “A mathematical modeling framework for endothelial mechanotransduction”, Cellular and Cardiovascular Engineering Lab, Ecole Polytechnique, February 2015, Department of Applied Mechanics, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, February 2015, Department of Hydrodynamical Systems, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, March 2015.
Mazzag, B., Carroll, J., “A mathematical description of endothelial cells and some related eigenvalue problems.” Midwest Mathematical Biology Conference. May 18, La Crosse, Wisconsin, 2014 and Sonoma State University Mathematics Colloquium, February 2014.
Mazzag, B., Carroll, J., “Eigenvalue problems associated with linear viscoelastic solids”. Humboldt State University Mathematics Colloquium, October 2012.
Peterson M.J., Stobb M., Mazzag B., Gahtan E., “Computational Graph Theoretical Model of the Zebrafish Sensorimotor Pathway.” Applied Mathematics, Modeling and Computational Science Conference, Waterloo, Canada, July 2012.
Larripa K., Mazzag, B., “Interdisciplinary Course Design: An Experiment in Teaching Introductory Mathematical Modeling for Biotechnology.” Poster presentation at the CSUPERB Symposium, 2012.
Gahtan, E., Mazzag, B., Stobb, M., Peterson, J.M., Sturchio, G., “Graph analysis of the zebrafish sensorimotor connectome.” Poster presentation at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, Washington DC, November 2011.
Pace, J., Mazzag, B., Barakat, A.I., “Going with the flow: How Endothelial Cells Distinguish Between Steady and Oscillatory Flow Using Ion Channels.” Poster presentation at the Society for Mathematical Biology Annual Meeting, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 2010.
Ketabchi, E., Mazzag, B., “The effect of shear-thinning behavior of actin on endothelial cell mechanotransduction”. Society for Mathematical Biology Annual Meeting, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 2010.
Mazzag, B., “Introductory Mathematical Modeling at Humboldt State University”. MathFest, Portland, August, 2009.
Mazzag, B., “Interdisciplinary Research with Undergraduates”. MathFest, Portland, August 2009.
Mazzag, B., “Shear-stress sensing and mechanical signal transduction in endothelial cells”. Poster presentation at the Mathematical Biology Workshop on Building an Interdisciplinary Career, Salt Lake City, Utah, May 2009.
Mazzag, B., “Shear-stress detection and force transmission in endothelial cells – a theoretical study”, Humboldt State University Biology Colloquium, February, 2009.
Ketabchi, E., Mazzag, B., “The effect of shear-thinning behavior of actin on endothelial cell mechanical signal transduction.” Poster presentation at the 20th Annual CSUPERB Symposium, 2009.
Mazzag, B., “Bifurcations in the Ricker Model.” Howard Hughes Medical Institute Quantitative Biology Workshop, Washington DC, July 2008.
Mazzag, B., “The feedback of localized calcium domain on calcium-gated channels”. Mathematical Biology Seminar, UC Davis, Department of Mathematics, February, 2008.
Mazzag, B., “Using math in cell biology: A tale of two channel types”. Occidental College, Mathematics Colloquium, April 2007.
Cooper, Z.,Greenwood, M, Mazzag, B., “Computational modeling of calcium dynamics near heterogeneous release sites.” Poster presentation at the CSUPERB Biotechnology Symposium, January 2007.
Mazzag, B., “Activities with fractals” California Math Council to the Far North Conference, Arcata, California, October 2006.
Mazzag, B., “Fun with fractals” guest lecture at the Redwood Empire Mathematics Tournament, Humboldt State University, March 2006.
Mazzag, B., Tignanelli, C., Smith, G.D., “Analysis of the effect of residual calcium on the gating of calcium-regulated calcium channels” Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics Life Sciences Joint Meeting with the Society for Mathematical Biology, Raleigh, North Carolina, August 2006.
Mazzag, B., “Using mathematical models in biology: A study of calcium channels”. Southern Oregon University, Science Seminar, October 2006.
Mazzag, B., Tignanelli, C., Smith, G.D. “Analysis of the effect of residual calcium on the gating of calcium-regulated calcium channels”. Poster presentation at the American Mathematical Society – Mathematical Association of America Joint Meetings, San Antonio, Texas, January 2006.
Mazzag, B. “Using Math in Cell Biology: How do Calcium Channels Work?”, invited talk, Mathematics Colloquium, Sonoma State University, California, April 21, 2004; Mathematics Colloquium, Humboldt State University, March 25, 2004.
Mazzag, B., “A Mathematical Model of Bacterial Aerotaxis” Graduate Student Seminar, Mathematics Department, University of Utah, Sep 14, 2004.
Mazzag, B., “The feedback of a localized calcium domain on calcium-gated channels”, Mathematical Biology Seminar, Mathematics Department, University of Utah, Oct 29, 2004.
Mazzag, B. “Chemotaxis - A theoretical view on gradient sensing in animal cells”, Mathematics Colloquium, Humboldt State University, Arcata, California, April 18, 2002.
Mazzag, B., “A Mathematical Model of Cell Deformation”, Mathematics Colloquium, Humboldt State University, Arcata, California, Nov. 14, 2002.
Mazzag, B., “A Mathematical Model of Bacterial Aerotaxis”, Applied Science Seminar, Department of Applied Science, College of William and Mary, Oct. 17, 2002.
Mazzag, B., “Pattern Formation in Chemotactic Animal Cells”, Spring Symposium. Sponsored by the Research Training Grant in Nonlinear Dynamics in Biology, Davis, California, April 7-9, 2000.
Mazzag, B., “Modeling Bacterial Band formation in Aerotaxis”, Annual Meeting of the Society for Mathematical Biology,Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands. June 19 - July 3, 1999
Grants and other funding
SUMMIT-P NSF grant subaward to HSU in the amount of $32,000 over 2 years. Served as the faculty lead, along with Liza Boyle, Sonja Manor and Ruth Saunders. The subaward will fund curricular redesign to link introductory Mathematics courses to partner disciplines (Engineering and Physics).
HSU Programmatic Funding: "Executive Order (EO 1110) Curricular Redesign", 2017-18: $75,000, 2018-19: $66,000; Lottery Funds: "Funding to Train Supplemental Instructors": $8,600; "Improving Math 109 Outcomes": $6,900; Loyalty Funds 2017-18: "Community Building in the Mathematics Department": $8,000. MSF Funds 2018-19: "Replacing Robot Kits in Computer Science", $5,000.
NSF INCLUDES WATCH US Mini-grant. "Leveraging the Mathematical Contest in Modeling to Support Undergraduate Women in Mathematics". B. Mazzag, Larripa, KR. $3900. 2018.
PIC Math: Mini grant to develop and teach “Preparation for Industrial Careers in Mathematics” course at HSU. 3 WTU release time and travel to PIC Math workshop, Provo, UT. $5,000. May 2016 – May 2017.
Co‐PI with PI Tyler Evans on “Hybrid Math courses for Core Math Courses” Sub-award in the amount of $18,327 to redesign Math 115, Precalculus. The award from the Gates Foundation was to CSU Northridge. The grant was effective January 1, 2013-December 31, 2013.
Presidential Award from HSU President Richmond in the amount of $5000 to support the work of the Quantitative Biology Networking Group, 2012.
CSUPERB Programmatic Grant: A curriculum development grant with co-PI Kamila Larripa in the amount of $11,115 for developing a course “Introductory Mathematical Biology for Biotechnology”. Funded by the CSUPERB. The grant was effective May 2010-October 2011.
CSUPERB Faculty-Student Collaborative Seed Grant: A research grant in the amount of $9,980 for “Computational investigation of Ca2+-release sites consisting of type I and II IP3 receptors”. Funded by the California State University Program from Education and Research in Biotechnology (CSUPERB). Grant was effective June 2006-May 2007.
Travel grants from HSU (2010) and professional organizations (Soros Foundation, 1996; Consortium for Women and Research, 1999; SIAM 2005; CSUPERB 2010; Society for Mathematical Biology, 2010).
HSU assign time awards (Faculty Diversity Grant, 2007, 2016; Research Scholarship and Creative Activity Program, 2009, Incentives Program, 2008, 2012, 2017)
GEAR Committee: HSU general education and assessment committee, Fall 2018-present. The primary responsibility of the committee has been the design of the GE learning outcomes and assessment framework.
CNRS Strategic Plan Implementation Committee: 2019-20. College-wide advisory committee to the Dean.
CNRS Career-Curriculum Committee and CNRS Community-based Projects Committee. 2018-present. These two committees grew out of the work of a group that started its work in Fall 2017. The initial task of the group was to identify the way career education was included in the various STEM programs. After this work was completed in Spring 2018, the two committees began their work in Fall 2018 to support existing efforts.
HSI STEM Steering Committee. Fall 2017-present. The HSI STEM grant funded the development of the first-year place-based STEM learning communities at HSU. As a member of the steering committee, I attended monthly meetings and was responsible for acting as a liaison between the Mathematics Department and the leadership of the grant.
Mathematics Department Assessment Committee. 2014-15, 2017-present. Helped design and implement an assessment protocol for the major.
Mathematics Department Scholarships and Prizes Committee. 2017-present. The committee reviews applications and selects recipients of various Mathematics scholarships and awards. The committee also worked with the HSU Office of Advancement, to update the distribution from the Kieval scholarship fund.
Mathematics - Computer Science PBLC Team: 2019-20. Part of the faculty-staff team to design the place-based learning community for first-year Math and CS students.
Mathematics Department Curriculum Committee. Fall 2011-Spring 2014, 2016-17. While I served on the Curriculum Committee, it created a new, two-semester alternative to the existing Math 115 Algebra and Elementary Functions course, and proposed a new bi-disciplinary option in the major.
Search Committee Member, Director of Center for Teaching and Learning. 2017-18. I reviewed applications and interviewed candidates as part of the committee.
College of Natural Resources and Sciences (CNRS) Personnel Committee. 2016-17. Reviewed personnel files for five faculty applying for tenure and promotion to Associate Professor, and one application for Full Professor and contributed to the CNRS personnel letters for these files.
CNRS Faculty Development Coordinator. 2013-2015, 2016-17. Organized and led faculty development activities in the College of Natural Resources and Sciences.
Mathematical Modeling Option Coordinator/Chair of Mathematics Graduate Committee. Fall 2005 - Spring 2014. Administration of the Mathematical Modeling Option of the Environmental Systems Graduate Program. The committee made decisions on recruitment and retention of graduate students and the graduate curriculum. I served as interim Graduate Coordinator for the Environmental Systems. Graduate Program in Spring 2013.
Referee (on-going) Anonymous review of articles submitted to professional journals in my field: Biophysical Journal Letters, Journal of Mathematical Biology, Journal of Theoretical Biology, Journal of Biological Dynamics, Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology, Ecological Modeling. I have also served as a reviewer for the "Transforming STEM Education" conference presentations in 2017 and 2018.
Enrollment Management Working Group. 2012-2015. The committee oversees policy and administration of activities related to recruitment, retention and student success. I served on several subcommittees: the search committee for the Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management and a committee to examine program sizes at HSU.
International Programs Screening Committee. Fall 2006-Spring 2009. The committee worked with the International Programs Office at HSU to interview and evaluate students who applied to study abroad.
Biophysics and Bioanalytics Club. 2016-17, 2017-18. Faculty advisor to a club interested in interdisciplinary research in biology, physics and computation. The club organized outreach activities and built a supercomputer.
Society for Women in Math and Sciences (SWMS). Fall 2011- Spring 2013. Faculty advisor to a club to support female students majoring in math and sciences. The club organized outreach activities at local schools and met weekly for social events and fundraisers.
Expanding Your Horizon Workshop Leader. March 2007. I designed and led two sessions of two-hour-long hands-on activities for middle-school girls. The goal of the workshops was to encourage girls to pursue careers in science and provide positive role models.
Sessions Organized
CSUPERB Symposia, January 2013-present. Session title: Quantitative Biology Networking Group, January 2017. Session title: Biotech + Design Workshop, co-organized with S. Sharp, CSU Los Angeles. January 2018. Session title: Data Science and Biology, co-organized with S. Sharp, CSU Los Angeles. January 2019. Session titles: CSU Shared Computing, co-organized with N. Jue, CSU Monterey Bay; Bullying in the Workplace, School-place and Research Space, co-organized with A. Sherivasana, CSU Monterey Bay, J. Lillig, Sonoma State University and K. Stone, CSU Stanislaus; January 2020. Session title: Active Bystander Training Workshop, co-organized with A. Sherivasana, CSU Monterey Bay, J. Lillig, Sonoma State University and K. Stone, CSU Stanislaus.
Society for Mathematical Biology Annual Meeting, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 2010. Session title: Endothelial cell mechanotransduction.
Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics Life Sciences Joint Meeting with the Society for Mathematical Biology, Raleigh, North Carolina, August 2006. Session title: Intracellular Calcium Modeling: Spatial Considerations on Multiple Scales.
MathFest, Knoxville, Tennesse, August 2006. Project NExT session. Session title: Team-teaching with faculty outside the mathematics department. Co-organized the session with Patrick Bahls.
American Mathematical Society (AMS) – Mathematical Association of America (MAA) Joint Meetings, San Antonio, Texas, January 2006. Project NExT session. Session title: Family Life and the Academic Career. Co-organized session with Angela Gallegos and Stephanie Salomone.
Courses Taught
Math 101 (formerly Math 113) College Algebra
Math 102 (formerly Math 115) Algebra & Elementary Functions
Math 103 Contemporary Mathematics
Math 105 Calculus for the Biological Sciences and Natural Resources Majors
Math 109 Calculus I
Math 110 Calculus II
Math 205 Multivariable Calculus for the Biol. Sci. And Nat. Res. Majors
Math 210 Calculus III
Math 241 Elements of Linear Algebra
Math 313 Ordinary Differential Equations
Math 351 Introduction to Numerical Analysis
Math 361 Introduction to Mathematical Modeling
Math 480 Special Topics ("Preparation for Industrial Careers in Mathematics")
Math 499 Independent Study (various topics & students)
Math 561 Dynamic Systems
Math 580 Special Topics ("Asymptotic Analysis")
Math 690 Thesis Research Supervision
Math 695 Directed Research
Biol/Psych 480/580 Special Topics (Cellular Neuroscience, team-taught)
Biol 480 Special Topics (Introductory Mathematical Modeling for Biotechnology, Physiology and Cell Biology)
Masters thesis projects
Ari Kornfeld, 2006: Measuring and modeling the gravitropic response of oat shoots (Avena sativa)
Aaron Greenberg, 2010: A model of the long-term persistence of the valley elderberry longhorn beetle
Jon Pace, 2011: Endothelial cells and blood flow: a mathematical model of early mechanical and electrophysiological responses to shear stress
Iris Gray, 2012: Breeding pond dispersal of interacting California red-legged frogs (Rana draytonii) and American Bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus) of California : a mathematical model with management strategies
Tyler Belarde, 2012: Evaluating cumulative effects of within-day flow fluctuations and presence of non-native species on age-0 Colorado pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus lucius) in nursery habitats of the Green River (Utah)
Michael Stobb, 2012: A dynamic neural network model of the zebrafish posterior lateral line sensorimotor pathway
Joshua Peterson, 2014: Individual-based modeling of colony growth in an encrusting bryozoan, Watersipora subtorquata
Alan Evangelista, 2015: Modeling the effects of sea level rise on Long-billed Curlews at Humboldt Bay
Professional development
PKAL Summer Leadership Institute. July 2014, Baca, Colorado. A professional development program of the Association of American Colleges and Universities for mid-career STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) faculty engaged in leading projects to transform undergraduate STEM education. The five-day program included training in successful communication and negotiation, problem solving in an academic setting and current issues in higher education.
Next Generation Sequencing, ENG 230 at San Jose State University, Fall 2014. I took the course via web-based teleconferencing. The course covered biological concepts and current industry methodologies and practices in NextGen sequencing.
IBM Workshop. Individual and Agent-based modeling workshop, June 25-29, 2012, HSU. The week-long workshop introduced participants to the principles of individual-based modeling; its standardized methodology (“Overview, Design Concepts and Details, ODD” and taught programing in NetLogo.
2005 Project NExT Fellow. Project NExT is a professional development program of the Mathematical Association of America. Fellows in a cohort attend three national conferences together, receive training in various issues in higher education, such as innovative pedagogy, work-life balance and attracting and retaining students from underrepresented groups. The cohort maintains e-mail contact and discusses all aspects of academic work from curricular issues to policy.