MMEE is the brainchild of Professor Mark Broom. As a mathematical modeller specialising in evolutionary game theory Mark noticed the lack of an international conference centred on the application of mathematical methods to ecology and evolution, where researchers with similar backgrounds could present their work and have philosophical discussions with like-minded colleagues.
Hence the MMEE was born in 2007. The first conference at the University of Sussex that year attracted around 130 people and had an inclusive and egalitarian ethos, providing a platform for a wide range of researchers, especially new ones, to present their work. It proved so successful that it was decided to make it a regular event, with the second conference happening at the University of Bristol in 2009. The basic format remains unchanged at each event, although there is significant flexibility for the local organisers to give their own flavour. MMEE left the UK for the first time when we went to the University of Groningen in 2011, returning to the UK at the University of York in 2013. The first four conferences were all of around the same size, but we nearly doubled in size attracting around 230 people at the 2015 event that was held at the Collège de France in Paris. This was followed by events of a similar size at City, University of London in 2017 and the University of Lyon in 2019, which has emphasised the growing importance and size of our research community. Covid 19 has led to the postponement of the scheduled 2021 event by a year to 2022.