MATH2916 Working Seminar A (Special Studies Program)

General Information

This page contains information on the Intermediate Unit of Study MATH2916 Working Seminar A (Special Studies Program).

This unit is offered in Semester 1.

Lecturer(s):

For further information on Intermediate Mathematics and Statistics, refer to the Intermediate Handbook.

You may also view the Faculty Handbook entry for MATH2916 in the central units of study database.

• Credit point value: 3CP.
• Classes per week: One hour-length seminar.
• Prerequisites: Entry into this unit of study is by invitation only, and is restricted to students with a High Distinction average over 12 cp of Advanced Junior Mathematics.

Email enquiries about MATH2916 may be sent to MATH2916@maths.usyd.edu.au.

Students: Please give your name and SID when emailing us. Anonymous emails will not be replied to.

Info

Course Info sheet

Convenor

In 2012, the MATH2916 convenor is Martin Wechselberger.

Time and location

Friday 11am-1pm, Eastern Avenue Tutorial Room 310.

Assessment

One 40 minute presentation (assessment 40% by staff, 10% by peers) and an essay of about 10-12 pages on the same topic, due 10 days after the presentation (assessment 50% by staff).

Clarity, accuracy, attention to detail and good writing/presentation style will be the major criteria. The convenor will assist you in preparing your presentation and your essay. In order to pass the unit successfully, you must attend all lectures.

Learning outcomes

By completing the working seminar you will

• practise effective oral and written communication of mathematics;
• learn how to discover and express mathematical proofs;
• gain a deeper understanding of differential equations.

Reference books

Advice on writing and presenting mathematics can be found in:

• Terry Tao, Advice on Writing Papers
• Nicholas J. Higham, Handbook of Writing for the Mathematical Sciences, SIAM, 1998. (Scitech 808.06651 4)
• Norman E. Steenrod, Paul Halmos, et al., How to Write Mathematics, American Mathematical Society, 1973. (Scitech 808.066 17)
• Steven G. Krantz, A Primer of Mathematical Writing, American Mathematical Society, 1997. (Scitech 808.0665 25)

The topic for MATH2916 in 2012 is `Oscillations and their Rhythms'. The main reference is:

• M. Farkas, Periodic Motions, Applied Mathematical Sciences 104, Springer-Verlag, Tokyo, 1994. (On reserve in the Scitech library)

A list of possible projects can be found here. For some projects, supplementary reference books will be suggested.

The most convenient references for the use of LaTeX are:

• The LaTeX Wikibook, which has links to the distributions and online discussion sites.
• The Not So Short Introduction to LaTeX 2e.

See here for links to further LaTeX documentation.

Presentation Schedule

Each speaker has to submit (via e-mail) a title and an abstract (no more than 75 words) on the Wednesday prior to her/his presentation.

Essays

Essays have to be submitted electronically (pdf file) no later than 10 days after the presentation.

Timetable

Last revised 30/03/12

All rooms are in the Carslaw building unless otherwise indicated.