Special Learning Opportunities
Each year a special topic in mathematics and computer science is offered through a seminar course (MATH 499 or CS 499). The topic is not among those in the regular curriculum and typically, the students, other faculty members and the instructor learn together. The exact topic, instructor and prerequisites change each year, and are described in the schedule of courses. Interested students may get additional information from the department chair and the instructor. Titles of recent seminars include Curves and Singularities, Applied Combinatorics, The Mathematics of Chaotic Phenomena, Computer Networks, Scheme and Functional Programming, Stochastic Processes, Experimental Design and Number Theory.
The department encourages creativity, initiative and discipline by offering credit to students who wish to do independent work with a faculty member (MATH 490 or CS 490). This is an excellent way to investigate a subject of personal choosing, and to pursue a topic in greater depth than would be possible in the classroom setting. Interested students should consult with the department chair or the supervising faculty member to get approval for an independent study. Almost any topic outside the regular curriculum would be considered. Recent topics of independent studies include operations research, computer graphics, neural networks, quality control, design of experiments, multivariate statistical analysis, object-oriented programming languages, calculus of variations, partial differential equations and advanced linear algebra.
Especially strong students are invited to participate in the departmental honors program. Students work for a year on an independent study, write and present a paper and take a comprehensive examination. This experience is appropriate for students preparing to enter graduate school. Recent honors graduates are attending Cornell University, University of Wisconsin and Rice University. Further details about the program are available from the department chair, the Honors Committee and the course catalogue.
Recent honors projects include:
- Eknath Belbase '92 - Stochastic Processes, Card-Shuffling and Ergodic Theory
- Shriram Krishnamurthi '93 - Partial Evaluation and the Isomorphism Problem
- Joni Baker '94 - Gambler's Ruin: A Problem in Enumerative Combinatorics
- Rajesh Raman '95 - An Algebra for Protocol Verification
The department is pleased to reward students who wish to do extra work in their courses. A student may earn course honors by completing a project under the supervision of the course instructor. This may involve additional reading, consulting library materials, writing computer programs or writing a report in the area of interest. Students wishing to earn course honors should seek permission from the instructor of the course. Additional information about the program is available in the course catalog.