MATH 496: Mathematical Modeling

SCHEDULE

Class will meet on Mondays from 5:30-6:20 in Fowler 127 and Thursdays from 3:00-4:50 in Fowler 112.

INSTRUCTOR

Ron Buckmire
402 Fowler
Math Department
Occidental College
1600 Campus Road
Los Angeles, CA 90041
(213) 259-2536
ron@oxy.edu

OFFICE HOURS

I am almost always in my office from noon till around 8pm. My official office hours will be {\bf Tuesday 2pm-4pm} and {\bf Thursday 1pm-3pm}. I am readily accessible by electronic mail and by phone. If you need to see me at a time not specified here, then contact me and make an appointment.

TEXTBOOK

Mathematical Modeling, by Mark M. Meerschaert, 1st Edition (1993), Academic Press.

NATURE OF THE CLASS

This course will act as an introduction to Mathematical Modeling and applied mathematics in general. You will learn the basic 5-step method of how applied mathematicians convert a physical "real-world" situation into a number of equations, which are then solved to produce a solution to the ``real-world'' problem.

The main goal of the course is for you to learn the basic methods of mathematical modeling. There will be some mathematical techniques that you will be introduced to, but for the most part, the mathematics involved will have been seen in the prerequisite courses (Multivariable Calculus).

We shall be using a number of computer algebra systems like {\tt Mathematica, Maple, MatLab} etc to assist us in the solution of the equations that come up during the mathematical modelling.

FORMAT OF THE CLASS

The class will be in a seminar/colloqium format. There will be two meeting times per week. Attendance will be mandatory and recorded. The class will proceed through study of a number of different examples of mathematical models which we will cover together. After explaining a particular modelling problem, a related or similar problem will be assigned, to be modelled by the students. The models will be applied to problems in manufacturing, economics, applied math, et cetera. The solution to these problems will be presented to the class.

GOALS

The goal of the class is that you learn how to model a physical situation mathematically. The method taught will be the 5-step method.

TESTS

There are NO EXAMS in this course! Your grade will be based on your weekly oral participation and written presentation of the modelling problems as well as your term project. The idea behind this is to give you practice in both oral and written public scientific communication.

TERM PROJECT

The term project will consist of a 5-10 paper written which describes a mathematical model of some situation of interest to the student. The term project can be done on your own, or with a partner. The model should either be a significant expansion of a model considered during the class, or a new model that we have not covered at all in the class.

ACADEMIC HONESTY

I expect the highest level of academic honesty from my students. If you have any questions about academic honesty you should read the sections on ``Spirit of Honor'' (front cover) and ``Academic Policies'' (pp 111-112) found in the Student Handbook. Any instances of plagiarism or cheating will be dealt with strictly and in accordance with procedures outlined in the Handbook.

GRADES

Your course grade will be composed of the following:

OTHER NOTES

We will not have class on Monday September 4 (Labor Day), October 9-10 (Columbus Day), November 16-18 (I'll be in Detroit) or , November 22-24 (Thanksgiving Break).

ON-LINE MATERIALS

I will create accounts for all of you on my machine, abacus.oxy.edu, which is a Sparc20 running Unix SunOS 4.1.3. In that way all of you will have atleast ONE account that you can receive and send email from. Also, I have set up a web page for the course, where announcements about the class will be reproduced. The URL is http://abacus.oxy.edu/~ron/math/496.html. There is a web page devoted to the class textbook at http://math.unr.edu/dept/faculty/mmm/modeling.html.