[Acmsmajors] Spring scheduling

[Brooke Miller]

Dear Students,

Here is the list of classes the Mathematics Department will be offering in 
Spring Quarter. I would like to point out the addition of a section of 
Math 394, which will be offered at 9:30.

SPRING

307, 308, 309
310, 324, 326
327, 328

390A	MWF	2:30
394A	MWF	9:30
395A	MWF	10:30
396A	MWF	8:30

404A	MWF	9:30
409A	MWF	11:30
426A	MWF	11:30
443A	MWF	12:30
445A	MWF	10:30


Topics courses - all will require an entry code
________________________________________________________________________

**480A	MWF	1:30	Using Computation in Support of Mathematical Research

PREREQUISITE: Students must have taken another course that involved rigorous 
mathematical proofs, such as Math 402 or 424, as well as Math 310, and should 
have prior exposure to a computer programming language.

DESCRIPTION: This is a course in the practical use of computation as an aid to 
mathematical research. Topics will include programing in Python with Sage 
(http://sagemath.org), creating and querying object-oriented and relational 
databases, setting up and running distributed computations, and writing 
optimized compiled code. We will also discuss the meaning of proof in 
computational mathematics and standards of ethics and verifiability in the 
context of computer-assisted mathematical research.  Students will gain a 
general understanding of some of the capabilities of Maple, Matlab, 
Mathematica, and Magma, and have basic introduction to at least the following 
open source software and libraries: Sage, Singular, Macaulay2, GAP, PARI, GMP, 
NTL, and Maxima.  Students must have taken another course that involved 
rigorous mathematical proofs, and should have prior exposure to a computer 
programming language.

_________________________________________________________________________

**480B	MWF	10:30	Solving Polynomial equations

PREREQUISITE: Math 308

Instructor: Rekha Thomas

This will be a research oriented class that will survey the modern
tools used to solve systems of polynomial equations and inequalities
both over the complex numbers and real numbers. The subject area is
almost as old as mathematics itself with myriad applications in
science and engineering. The tools needed come from many different
parts of mathematics such as algebra, geometry, combinatorics,
topology, optimization and analysis. Along with learning the theory,
students will be expected to work on a research question that will
require experimenting with computational packages and possibly writing
some code.

_________________________________________________________________________

**480C MWF 2:30 Symmetry, Lie Groups & the Hydrogen Atom

PREREQUISITES: Math 308 or Math 136;  Math 324 and 327 or Math 334 and 335; 
Physics 121-2-3.  Also recommended are at least one 400-level math course (402 
is particularly relevant) and/or at least one 200 or 300 level physics course.

DESCRIPTION: The object of this course is to develop the mathematical model for 
the hydrogen atom (and, in a more approximate sense, other atoms) that explains 
the structure of the electron shells and leads to a theoretical basis for the 
periodic table of elements. The emphasis is on the exploitation of the 
rotational symmetry of the problem to guide the way to the solution. This goal 
provides an opportunity to see how algebra (mostly linear algebra) and analysis 
can be used together to analyze a situation, and to introduce some more 
advanced mathematical subjects such as Hilbert spaces and Lie groups.

We will work through as much as possible of the book Linearity, Symmetry, and 
Prediction in the Hydrogen Atom} by Stephanie Frank Singer.

________________________________________________________________________

Math 497 - Game Theory

Game theory is a fascinating subject, which sheds light on diverse
topics including economics, voting and even evolutionary biology. To
gain a feeling for the strategies involved, we will try many of the
games in class.  We will also explore some of the beautiful
mathematical tools that give game theory its power.  Among the topics
to be covered are

1. Zero sum games

2. Nash Equilibriums

3. Voting systems such as simple majority vote versus the electoral college.

4. Well known games like hex, chess and nim.