Simulating Biophysical Processes: System Dynamics for Food, Ecology, Health, and Environment (NUTR-0346)

Fall 2025 · NUTR 0346 · Tufts University · 3 credits · Undergraduate

Whether studying food spoilage, human energy balance, crop growth, or pollution and carbon sequestration, simulation of biophysical systems provides a powerful framework to predict dynamics under changing conditions, to test scientific understanding, and to analyze alternative scenarios. These models use a system dynamics framework to describe underlying biological and physical processes. In this course, students will learn the basics of modeling the dynamics of biophysical systems using graphical modeling tools, Microsoft Excel, and the statistical programming language R. The course will culminate in individual research projects, presented as a scientific paper formatted for peer review, using either a model from the scientific literature or an independently developed model to answer an original research question.

Course codes: NUTR-0346, NUTR 0346, NUTR0346, NUTR-346, NUTR 346, NUTR346

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