Large groups of people don't necessarily behave like flocks of seagulls or schools of fish. But it is possible to describe the behavior patterns of large crowds using mathematical models. Earlier this year, Lori Voss used advanced mathematics and computers in an attempt to explain and predict drinking behaviors on college campuses. Working with other undergraduates at a summer institute in Pomona, Calif., Voss assigned fictional students to four subgroups: abstainers, social drinkers, binge drinkers and problem drinkers. These subgroups were then put through a series of random interactions.

Voss and the other student researchers wanted to see if students in the subgroups would change their affiliations after interacting. "If you randomly mix people from one group with people from another group, their behaviors may change," says Voss, a senior in math at UMR.

(Editor's note: They should try this with Raiders and Chiefs fans.)

During the random interactions, the group at large is always changing but always trying to gravitate toward mathematical stability, according to Voss. "The models show that it's almost impossible for one group to completely dominate a community," she says. "Eventually, in our study, the computer gives us a fairly stable environment consisting of two or three subgroups of drinkers."

When the computer finishes running the interactions, two of the drinking subgroups on a stable campus end up having the most members: Social drinkers and abstainers.

(Editor's note II: Most Raiders fans and Chiefs fans could probably be described as problem drinkers. But, while Chiefs fans are typically capable of holding respectable jobs, it would be hard to imagine any group of Raiders fans in a stable environment.)

Voss will lead her group when it presents the research during the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science Oct. 26-29 in Tampa, Fla.