Harold M. Hastings

Chairperson, Department of Physics
Hofstra University

CHPHB 102
151 Hofstra University
Hempstead, NY 11549-1510 USA
Telephone: +1-516-463-5586
Fax +1-516-463-3059
E-mail: Harold.Hastings@Hofstra.edu

Professor of Mathematics
Hofstra University

Adams Hall 109
103 Hofstra University
Hempstead, NY 11549-1510 USA

Co-director, Center for Arrhythmia Research

Current members include Steven Evans, MD, Director and Flavio Fenton. Visit our web site arrhythmia.hofstra.edu.

Research Interests: Dynamical systems and applications, especially to physiology.

Selected recent publications:

H.M. Hastings and G. Sugihara, Fractals: a user's guide for the natural sciences, Oxford University Press, 1993; German Translation, Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, 1996.
B.S. Schneider, H. M. Hastings, and G. Maytal, The spatial distribution of pancreatic islets follows a universal power law, Proc. Royal Soc., Ser. B. 263 (1996), 129-131.
H.M. Hastings, S.J. Evans, W. Quan, M. Chong, M.L., and O. Nwasokwa, Non-linear dynamics in ventricular fibrillation, PNAS 93 (1996), 10495-10499.
H.M. Hastings, D. Rumignani, M.T. Weiss, A. Vassalotti and Y. Wu, Lack of predictability in ecosystems based on coupled logistic equations, Ecological Modelling 92 (1996), 209-214.
H.M. Hastings and B.S. Schneider. Fractal geometry of pancreatic islet centers - an organizing principle ? Comments on Theoretical Biology 6 (1997), 413-428.
L. Jin, R.Q. Yuan, A. Fuchs, Y. Yao, ..., H.M. Hastings, ... and E.M. Rosen, Expression of interleukin-1beta in human breast carcinoma, Cancer 80 (1997), 421-434.
H.M. Hastings and R. Kissell, Is the Nile outflow fractal ? Hurst's analysis reconsidered, Natural Resource Modelling 11 (1998), 83-93.
S.J. Evans, H.M. Hastings, S. Nangia, J. Chin, M. Smolow, et al., Ventricular fibrillation: one spiral or many ?, Proc. Royal Soc. Lond., B 265 (1998), 2167-2170.
F.H. Fenton, S.J. Evans, H.M. Hastings, Memory in an excitable medium: A mechanism for spiral wave breakup in the low-excitability limit, Phys. Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 3964-3977(1999).
H.M. Hastings, F.H. Fenton, S.J. Evans, O. Hotomaroglu, J. Geetha, K. Gittelson, J. Nilson* and A. Garfinkel, Alternans and the Onset of Ventricular Fibrillation, Phys. Rev. E, (Sept. 1, 2000).
Preprints from papers submitted after September 1, 2001 will be available from hofprints.hofstra.edu. Two of my previous papers on science education have already been placed at that site hofprints.hofstra.edu. They are

Hastings, Harold M (2000) Astrophotography in introductory astronomy classes using CCD cameras.

Hastings, Harold M (1999) Science Courses for Non-Science Majors: A Roundtable held at Innovation in Honors Education, a Penn State Conference for University Honors Programs, June 1999, Penn State Univ., State College, PA.

For information about study at Hofstra University, please contact me at: Harold.Hastings@Hofstra.edu

I am teaching Physics 1 in Fall 2001. The syllabus and some other material can be found at Phys001 .

I am also teaching Astronomy in Fall 2001. The syllabus and some other material can be found at Astr012.

My general Astronomy web site is Astronomy. Syllabi, a list of links, and some photographs from the Hofstra University Observatory will be posted on this Astronomy Web Site.

I am also interested in Science across cultures. I taught a course on Mathematics from Africa (Math 198A) in Spring 2000.

I frequently Professor Sabrina Sobel and I co-direct a National Science Foundation funded project in excitable media.

Finally, click here for some syllabi and related material from our group's NSF ILI grant.