SYLLABUS FOR MATH 4400/6400
Spring Semester 2004

Instructor: J R Nanney, PhD
Office: 310F Goodwin Hall
Telephone: 334 244 3324
Office hours:See Schedule
email: nanney@mail.aum.edu
Homepage: sciences.aum.edu/mh/faculty/nanney/
Textbook: None. Your notes taken in class together with your solved problems will constitute a good textbook.

Mathematical Models and simulation is a course in applied mathematics. It emphasizes solving fairly large applied problems most of which require the use of a computer. There is no standard curriculum for this course, but I have always thought it should include some of the important techniques of mathematics that are not covered for math majors in the math curriculum. This course can be considered a sequence of several minicourses. Each of the topics would require one or more quarters to learn thoroughly, but with an introduction to the main ideas and principles of the topic and a few homework problems from each topic, one can leave this course with a pretty good idea what each of these topics deals with.

Topics

  1. Tanks and Euler's Method
  2. Celestial Mechanics
  3. Population Dynamics
  4. Curve Fitting by Regression
  5. Epidemic Theory
  6. Linear Programming
  7. Probability Simulations
  8. Markov Chains
  9. Game Theory
  10. Models in Chemistry

It may not be possible to cover all these topics in 30 class meetings, and so something may be left out.

Grades: Grades are based on take-home problems which count 80%. There is also a final exam which has maybe one problem from each topic and which counts the other 20%. Because the problems count as a major part of your grade, you should do each problem with no or at least very little collabaration with others. The deadline for the problems is the last day of class. Some of the harder problems are at the beginning giving you more time to work on them. Please turn each problem in to me when you get it done (I do not want ALL of them on the last day!) If a problem is unaccepable, you may do it over with no penalty provided it is not turned in very late in the course. Keep up with the problems as we go along. You cannot do them all the last week. There are 60 problems, but I never assign more than about 40 of them. ::: PROBLEMS PAGE :::

Class Attendance and Environment: You are responsible for material covered in class whether or not you are in attendance. Please help to maintain a good classroom environment by being on time, not talking at an inappropriate time and by not bringing distracting devices such as cellular phones, beepers and children to class.

Academic Integrity: Please read the section concerning academic integrity in the AUM catalog.

Special services: AUM attempts to make reasonable accommodations to meet the needs of students with disabilities. The Center for Special Services is located in Room 912 of the Tower. Their telephone number is 334 244 3468.

Learning Center: Not applicable for this course.