Winter 2007-08 Mathematics Electives

MA323 Geometric Modeling (4 credits)
Period 9 MTRF - David Finn
Prerequisite: MA 113 or consent of instructor
This course covers some of the mathematical methods for describing physical or virtual objects needed in computer aided geometric design (CAGD) and computer graphics. See instructor's course web pages for more details.

MA327 Low Dimensional Topology (4 credits)
Period 7 MTRF - Steve Carlson
Prerequisite: MA 113 or consent of instructor
An introduction to the topology of one-, two-, and three-dimensional manifolds and its application to other areas of mathematics and science. Topics may include, but are not restricted to, classification of curves and surfaces, Euler characteristic, tiling and coloring theorems, graph embeddings, vector fields, knots and links, and elementary algebraic topology. Intended for science and engineering majors as well as mathematics majors. See instructor's course web pages for more details.

MA341 Topics in Mathematical Modeling (4 credits)
Period 2 MTRF - Steve Galinaitis
Prerequisite: MA 222 or consent of instructor
An introduction to techniques of mathematical modeling involved in the analysis of meaningful and practical problems arising in many disciplines including mathematical sciences, operations research, engineering, and the management and life sciences. Topics include creative and empirical model construction, model fitting, models requiring optimization, and modeling dynamic behavior. Student participation in significant individual and group projects will be emphasized.

MA352 Problem Solving Seminar II (1 credit)
Period 8 W - Kurt Bryan
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor
An exposure to mathematical problems varying widely in both difficulty and content. Students will be expected to participate actively, not only in the solution process itself but also in the presentation of finished work, both orally and in writing. A student may earn a maximum of six credits in MA 351-6.

MA366 Functions of a Real Variable (4 credits)
Periods 7 & 8 MTRF - David Finn and Kurt Bryan
Prerequisite: MA113 and MA275
Calculus of functions of a single variable. A more careful development of the basic concepts of analysis, including sequences, limits, continuity, differentiability, integration, infinite series, power series, Taylor's theorem, and uniform convergence. This course forms a basis for further advanced study in analysis such as the theory of ordinary and partial differential equations and Fourier series. Webpage for Dr. Finn.

MA375 Discrete and Combinatorial Algebra II (4 credits)
Periods 3 & 6 MTRF - Ralph Grimaldi and Tanya Jajcay
Prerequisite: MA 275
This continues the course in discrete math (MA275). Topics include advanced enumeration techniques including recurrence relations, generating functions, and the principal of inclusion and exclusion. (required for CS and SE).

MA381 Introduction to Probability with Applications to Statistics (4 credits)
Period 9 MTRF - David Rader
Prerequisite: MA113
Introduction to probability theory; axioms of probability, sample spaces, and probability laws (including conditional probabilities). Univariate random variables (discrete and continuous) and their expectations including these distributions: binomial, Poisson, hypergeometric, geometric, negative binomial, uniform, and exponential.  Introduction to moment generating functions. Introduction to jointly distributed random variables. Univariate transformations of random variables. The distribution of linear combinations of random variables and an introduction to the Central Limit Theorem.

MA385 Quality Methods (4 credits)
Period 4 MTRF - Diane Evans
Prerequisite: MA 223 or MA 381 and consent of instructor
Introduction to various aspects of statistical quality control and statistical process control to include the following topics: importance of variance reduction and probability concepts influencing product quality and reliability; development and application of control charts (P-charts, NP-chart, C-charts, U-charts, Individuals Charts, moving range charts, X-bar and R as well as X-bar and S charts); process capability indices (their use and misuse); introduction to acceptance sampling. Other topics to be included as time allows: 6 sigma thinking, gauge reproducibility and repeatability, and total quality management with the philosophies of Deming, Juran, and Crosby. Review of fundamental prerequisite statistics will be included as necessary. Same as CHE 385.
See the stats web page for scheduling of statistics courses.

MA433 Numerical Analysis (4 credits)
Period 8 MTRF - Cara Brooks
Prerequisite: MA222
Root-finding, computational matrix algebra, nonlinear optimization, polynomial interpolation, splines, numerical integration, numerical solution of ordinary differential equations. Principles of error analysis and scientific computation. Selection of appropriate algorithms based on the numerical problem and on the software and hardware (such as parallel machines) available.

MA444 Deterministic Models in Operations Research (4 credits)
Period 3 MTRF - David Rader
Prerequisite: MA221 or MA371/373
Study of mathematical models and techniques which aid in decision making. Focuses on network problems (spanning tree, maximum flow, critical path and matching problems) and on linear programming, including duality. See course web page for more details.

MA450 Math Seminar (1 credit)
Period W 9- Cara Brooks
Prerequisite: none
This course is designed to encourage students to attend department mathematics seminars and make a presentation of their own. Students  must attend nine seminars and make presentation of their own on a topic chosen in consultation with the instructor. A student will be allowed two consecutive quarters to complete all requirements.

MA474/CSSE474 Theory of Computation (4 credits)
Period 6 MTRF - Larry Merkle
Prerequisite: Pre: CSSE 230 and MA 375
Students study mathematical models by which to answer three questions: What is a computer? What limits exist on what problems computers can solve? What does it mean for a problem to be hard? Topics include models of computation (including Turing machines), undecidability (including the Halting Problem) and computational complexity (including NP-completeness). Same as CSSE 474.
Email course instructor for more details.

MA478 Topics in Number Theory (4 credits)
Period 6 MTRF - John Rickert
Prerequisites: MA378 or MA375 or consent of the instructor
See course web page for more details.

MA485 Applied Regression Analysis and Time Series,
Period 5 MTRF - Mark Inlow
Prerequisites: MA 223 or MA 382
See the stats web page for scheduling of statistics courses.

MA490-01 Topics in Mathematics - Real Analysis II (4 credits)
Period 8 MTRF - Jeff Leader
Prerequisite: consent of instructor
Email course instructor for more details or see this webpage for more details..

MA490-02 Topics in Mathematics - Derivatives of Options (4 credits)
Period 3 MTRF - Kurt Bryan
Prerequisite: consent of instructor
Email course instructor for more details or see this webpage for more details..

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