Drew Levin

Research Interests

Computer architecture is becoming more and more distributed. Processors now come with multiple cores and many applications now offload computation onto 'cloud' servers. To adapt to this new paradigm, we will need to develop new approaches to algorithmic design. To do so, I turn to nature for inspiration. My research focuses on autonomous distributed search processes in nature, with the goal of bringing the lessons learned from these biological examples of search back into the realm of computation.

I am also interested in the complex interactions that arise in situations of competitive co-evolution, also known as the Red Queen hypothesis. Examples of such systems include predatory-prey species co-evolution, organized team sports strategies, traditional games such as poker and bridge, economic trading systems, and political and military interactions. Along these same lines, I am interested in how non-linear combinations of simple rules and components can create systems that breed competition in unpredictable complex ways.

• Modeling the Human Immune Response

  I am interested in how the human immune system leverages information in order to rapidly find and clear infections. I have co-developed the agent-based modeling software CyCells to allow us to visualize the search process performed by T cells in the human lung.

• Ant Foraging Strategies

  Ants search, recruit, and exploit food sources efficiently without the use of a centralized controller. I have developed an online spatial model to examine how ants communicate and recruit in tree-like structures.

• Autonomous Distributed Search using Robots

  I am interested in using robots as searching agents. Because robots are resource constrained devices, I evaluate the effectiveness of different autonomous distributed search algorithms over different types of environments.

  
  

Publications

• Levin D, Forrest S, Banerjee S, Clay C, Cannon J, Moses M & Koster F (In submission). A spatial model of the efficiency of T cell search in the influenza-infected lung.
• Levin D, Hecker J, Moses M, & Forrest S (2015). Volatility and spatial distribution of resources determine ant foraging strategies. European Conference on Artificial Life.
• Flanagan T, Fricke M, Hecker J, Letendre K, Levin D, Forrest S, Gordon D, & Moses M (2015). Using information to improve collective search. European Conference on Complex Systems.
• Banerjee S, Levin D, Moses M, Koster F, & Forrest S (2011). The value of inflammatory signals in adaptive immune responses. Artificial Immune Systems (pp. 1-14). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. link
• Mitchell H^*, Levin D^*, Forrest S, Beauchemin CA, Tipper J, Knight J, ... & Koster F (2011). Higher level of replication efficiency of 2009 (H1N1) pandemic influenza virus than those of seasonal and avian strains: kinetics from epithelial cell culture and computational modeling. Journal of virology, 85(2), 1125-1135. link
  ^* Both authors contributed equally to this work.

Teaching

I have co-designed and taught a class, Probability for Scientists, and have also filled in as a guest lecturer and as a teaching assistant as needed.

• UNM Bio 409 / Bio 509 / Stat 479: Probability for Scientists (Fall 2013)

  • I co-designed and taught the class along with fellow graduate students Christian Gunning and Ara Kooser.
  • We focused on hands-on experiments in class to help teach students fundamentals of probability and statistics.
  • Course website

• UNM CS 365: Introduction to Scientific Modeling (Fall 2012)

  • I gave guest lectures, designed a class project, and assisted students in the completion of the project.
  • The project focused on designing an ODE model of a human influenza infection and fitting the model to empirical data using a genetic algorithm.
  • Course website

• UNM CS 530: Geometric and Probabilistic Methods in Computer Science (Fall 2007)

  • I was a guest lecturer.
  • I gave a lecture on the relationship between complex numbers and the unit circle.
  • Course website

Projects

• CyCells

  I have co-developed the CyCells modeling framework along with Christina Warrender. CyCells is an agent-based spatial modeling framework for the simulation and visualization of processes relating to immunology and virology. It was built using C++, OpenGL, and QT4.

  • You can download CyCells from my GitHub account: here

  

  • You can view the supplemental videos of for the publication: Spatial model of lymphocyte search in influenza-infected lung reveals constraints on chemokine directed migration here: CyCells Videos

• Ant Modeling

  In collaboration with Deborah Gordon at Stanford, along with Stephanie Forrest and Melanie Moses here at UNM, I have designed a model of ant foraging in trees. My model allows the user to experiment and contrast different ant searching strategies on a virtual binary tree. I developed the model using JavaScript and an HTML5 Canvas element to allow instant, platform independent use by my remote collaborators.

  • You can play with the model: here

  • You can access the code on my GitHub account: here

  

• MatlabGeeks

  I am one of three managing partners and a contributing author at Matlabgeeks.com. I developed and wrote a five-part tutorial series on using Matlab to design an ODE model and fit it to empirical data. The series also includes discussions on numerical integration techniques and touches on complexity and chaos theory at the end.

  • Part 1 - Introduction to Numerical Integration
  • Part 2 - The Runge-Kutta Method of Numerical Integration
  • Part 3 - Lotka-Volterra and SIR ODE Models
  • Part 4A - Fitting Data with the Levenberg-Marquardt Gradient Descent Algorithm
  • Part 4B - Fitting Data with a Genetic Algorithm
  • Part 5A - Examples of Complex Systems: the Logistic Map
  • Part 5B - Examples of Complex Systems: the Lorenz Strange Attractor

  • To aid in my creation of the above tutorial series, I developed a simple Matlab code to HTML converter tool.

  • The converter code is available on my GitHub account: here

Interests

• Family

  I am a husband to my wonderful wife Meg and a father to my lovely daughter Norah.

  

• Board Games

  I am an avid board game enthusiast and collector. As a young graduate student, I orgainzed a weekly board game night for the computer science graduate students which persisted for over two years. Attendance ranged from as few as 4 to as many as 25 people. My collection can be seen: here.

  These are a few of my favorites in no specific order:

  • • Through the Ages - Potentially my favorite and one of my few 10s on BGG. I feel it, more than any other game, creates tension by making every move a difficult choice between several tempting options.
  • • 7 Wonders - A perfectly designed light game that can accommodate up to 7 players with no extra time due to simultaneous play.
  • • Ora et Labora - My favorite game by Uwe Rosenberg (beating out Agricola and Le Havre). I love the elegance of the resource wheel and the spatial aspect of building a town.
  • • Caylus - My first 'Eurotrash' cube-pusher. A classic in its genre that may never be surpassed.
  • • Pandemic - An incredibly well-balanced cooperative game, that is until you and your wife draw the Dispatcher and Operations Specialist roles five games in a row...

• Poker

  Before arriving at UNM, I played poker professionally from the end of 2004 through most of 2006. I started off as a micro-stakes limit ring player and eventually specialized in small and medium stakes short-handed no-limit ring games. I was a regular contributor to the SSNL and MSNL communities on the 2+2 poker forum. During this period, I logged over 500,000 hands and maintained a win rate across various levels of >2ptbb/100. Upon my arrival at UNM, I organized a weekly game where I taught other graduate students and professors how to play poker competitively, focusing on the mathematical aspects of poker game theory. I eventually organized a casino field trip and overall the group did very well. Many of the original members of the group continue to play poker to this day.

• Ultimate Frisbee

  I joined and competed for the UNM Ultimate Frisbee club, HantaVirus, for three years. I was club captain my third year and was responsible for both coaching and organizing the team. As club captain, my attempt to install the use of a split-stack offensive alignment due to a personally perceived negative frequency-dependent selection process on offensive tactics was met with horrific results.

• Oregon Ducks

  I was born and raised in Eugene, Oregon. Although I completed my undergraduate education at Harvey Mudd College, I remain a die-hard Oregon Ducks fan to this day. Come by my office and you will probably see me wearing one of my many Oregon T-shirts. Go Ducks!