Courses » » Mathematics 398. Experimental Courses

History of Mathematics

This class is a mathematics class that devotes considerable attention to how certain mathematical ideas and selected mathematicians related to the history of humankind. We will not only learn about the great and near great mathematicians, but we will devote considerable attention to selected important mathematical ideas in addition to their relationship to the culture of the times and of the future. Most of the mathematics content will come from the mathematics that proceeded the middle ages, however we will make forays into selected mathematical ideas that are currently receiving research attention.

Dynamical Systems

Dynamical Systems is the study of how things change over time. In many interesting cases, fractals and chaos ensue, and the intertwining and separation of these two ideas will be discussed extensively. The course will cover both discrete iterations and continuous flows, and also examine applications to the real world. Prerequisites are either (Math 211: Discrete Mathematics or Math 236: Multivariable Calculus and permission of instructor). Helpful courses are Ordinary Differential Equations and Real Analysis.

Introduction to Operations Research

An introduction to the principles of Operations Research, modeling, optimization, and their role in decision making for organizations and systems management. Applications include satellite operations, network flow, risk/revenue management, and emergency systems. Topics include linear programming (the Simplex Method, concepts of duality and sensitivity analysis), network optimization (e.g. transportation and assignment problems), nonlinear programming and stochastic models.