Math 100 Introduction to the Profession


Instructor: Hemanshu Kaul
Office: 125C, Rettaliata Engg Center.
E-mail: kaul [at] iit.edu

Class Time: 1:50pm-3:05pm, Tuesday and Thursday
Place: 106, Rettaliata Engg Center.

Office Hours: Tuesday 12:45-1:15pm and Thursday 3:05-4pm. And by appointment in-person or through Zoom (send email to setup appointment).
Questions through Canvas Discussion Forums are strongly encouraged.

TA Office Hours: Minjung Michelle Kang, Mondays 11:30am-1pm & Thursdays 11:30am-1pm, at RE 129 or at Math Tutoring Center.


|Course Information| |Advice| |Announcements| |Topics| |Projects| |Weekly Class Log| |MATLAB|

Course Information:

This course is an introduction to the nitty-gritty of work and study in the mathematical sciences. Fresh applied math majors are introduced to undergraduate studies and careers in applied math; to the effect of ethics, diversity, and related social issues to work and study in mathematics; to the study of mathematical statements, logic, and proofs; to experimentation and computation in mathematics; and they work on a semester-long group project that investigates a mathematical topic.

The Course Information Handout has extensive description of the course - topics, textbook, student evaluation policy, as well as other relevant information. Read it carefully!




Advice for students:

Here is my Welcome Letter to students like you.

Excellent advice by Francis Su on good mathematical writing.

Why do we have to learn proofs? by Josh Cooper.
On a more abstract note, here is a discussion by Tim Gowers on Language and Grammar of Mathematics - which is what you are learning in a course like this.

Excellent advice for math majors by Terry Tao, 2006 Fields medallist. Required reading.

Read this book on a variety of experiences in the journey to learn mathematics: Living Proof

Some of the primary sources of information/discussion for careers in Mathematical Sciences:
MAA - Careers
SIAM - Careers
INFORMS - Careers
AMS - Careers




Class Announcements:



Course Topics:
Special Lectures:



Projects:

The project requires you to work in teams of 2-3 students with the Professor offering the project. The project adviser will specify the details of what his/her project entails, the outlines will be given in the descriptions below.
The successful completion of the project entails:

Before the project Starts -

1) Send me an email with your choice of project(s) on Tuesday, 9/30 after class. Projects will be assigned in first-come first-serve order.
2) After I confirm your project and team members by Thursday, 10/2, write an email to your chosen project adviser by Friday, 10/3 to set up an appointment with him/her.

After the project starts -

3) Regular meetings with the project adviser and following his/her instructions.
4) At the end of each week before Friday 11:59pm, each student will also write a short 2-3 line summary of what she/he did related to the project over the past 7 days. This will be directly written in the MS Doc file for each project I will share with you.
5) A midterm report on the status of the project before Wednesday, 10/29 .
6) A final meeting with project adviser before Wednesday, 12/3 to confirm the completion of the project, and discuss the outcome of the project.
7) Submission of project report by email to me before the start of the Final exam week on Saturday, 12/6, 11:59pm.
8) Submission of project presentation file (as a PDF file) by email to me before the start of all presentations on TBA.
9) Final project presentation in front of your classmates during the Final exam week: TBA

Project Topics:



Weekly Class Log with Discussion Questions and HW:




MATLAB Information:

Our textbook:
Moler's Experiments with MATLAB

MATLAB Access:
We will access MATLAB through the IIT's Virtual Computing Lab (VCL) which is accessible through your my.iit.edu account.
See FAQs regarding VCL.
Refer to VCL Instructions here.

Introduction to MATLAB:
Matlab Links for More Information




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