2023 Spring Course Syllabus - Mathematics 2121.001

Course: Mathematics 2121.001.

Course Title: Mathematical Modeling and Simulation.

Credits: 3.

How this course will be taught: In-person.

Time: TR 11:00am-12:20pm.

Place: Wachman 010.

Instructor: Rujeko Chinomona.

Instructor Office: Wachman 512.

Instructor Email: rujeko.chinomona@temple.edu

Instructor Phone: Use email.

Office Hours: tentatively TR 1:30pm-3:00pm (or by appointment).

Prerequisites: Programming - MATH1034/CIS1051/CIS1057/CIS1068 or equivalent. Math - MATH1042 or equivalent. See Course Catalog for up-to-date prerequisites.

Course Materials: There is no required textbook for this course. Main materials will be lecture notes, short videos, and software. All assigned readings will be provided.

Course Goals: By the end of this class students will be able to build models and simulations for complex emergent phenomena, analyze and interpret simulation results.

Topics Covered: This course introduces the concept of (a) building a mathematical model of a real- world process, (b) using computational resources to simulate the model, and (c) properly interpreting the results. The main focus lies on processes with many interacting agents, such as: traffic flow, spread of diseases, forest fires, animal swarming, economic markets, social networks, robotics. The course provides an overview of model building concepts, training on the implementation of models in a computing environment, as well as theoretical background on how to analyze and understand large-scale phenomena (traffic waves, stock market crashes, swarm intelligence, etc.). General interest in mathematical model building and in programming is required.

Course Grading: Attendance, Pre-class assignments, In-class activities: 25%; Homework: 35%; Course Project: 40%.

Exam Dates: Project presentations on 04/27/2023. Project report due 05/09/2023.

Attendance Policy: Students are expected to attend every class. If a student cannot attend a class for some justifiable reason, they are expected to contact the instructor before class.

Attendance and Your Health: To achieve course learning goals, students must attend and participate in classes, according to your instructors' requirements. However, if you feel unwell or if you are under quarantine or in isolation because you have been exposed to the virus or tested positive for it, you should not come to campus or attend in-person classes or activities. Students have the responsibility to contact their instructors to create a plan for participation and engagement in the course as soon as they are able to do so and to make a plan to complete all assignments in a timely fashion when illness delays their completion.

Homework: Homework programming exercises will be assigned fairly periodically (roughly each week or 2 weeks). Assignments are designed to provide in depth exploration and expansion of models discussed in class. All codes turned in as homework must be the student's own work, though discussion with classmates is encouraged. All codes must include the student's name, a short description of the purpose, clear comments, and must properly cite code segments from other sources. Programming assignments will be exclusively turned in via personal GitHub repositories (no email or Canvas). Students will be introduced to the basics of Git version control for this purpose.

Late Assignments: Students must turn in their work by the submission deadline. Any extensions must be requested and granted before the submission deadline.

Pre-class Assignments: Over the course of the semester we may have short assignments that are due prior to class. The purpose of these assignments is to introduce new concepts, leaving class time for exploration with models. These assignments will typically consist of readings or short videos followed by a short quiz or a contribution to the Canvas discussion board.

In-class Expectations: Attendance and in-class participation are crucial to success in this class. Students are expected to complete all pre-class assignments in order to follow along with in-class activities. A charged laptop running Matlab is required to complete in-class programming activities.

Course Project: Over the course of the semester, students will work on a project of their own choosing in any topic of interest related to the class material. Course projects should be designed to demonstrate the major themes of model building, computer simulation, presentation, interpretation and analysis of results. Students should start thinking about course projects early on in the semester and discuss their selections with the instructor.

Computing: Computational exercises will be conducted in MATLAB. Temple University has a site license for MATLAB and it can be installed free-of-charge on personal computers by following procedures at https://its.temple.edu/matlab-site-licensed-software. See instructions on Canvas.

Disability Statement: Any student who has a need for accommodations based on the impact of a documented disability or medical condition should contact Disability Resources and Services (DRS) in Howard Gittis Student Center South, Rm 420 (drs@temple.edu; 215-204-1280) to request accommodations and learn more about the resources available to you. If you have a DRS accommodation letter to share with me, or you would like to discuss your accommodations, please contact me as soon as practical. I will work with you and with DRS to coordinate reasonable accommodations for all students with documented disabilities. All discussions related to your accommodations will be confidential.

Academic Freedom: Freedom to teach and freedom to learn are inseparable facets of academic freedom. The University has adopted a policy on Student and Faculty Academic Rights and Responsibilities (Policy # 03.70.02) which can be accessed here (opens in new tab/window).

Add/Drop Policy: Students will be charged for a course unless dropped by the Drop/Add deadline date. Check the University calendar (opens in new tab/window) for exact dates.

During the Drop/Add period, students may drop a course with no record of the class appearing on their transcript. Students are not financially responsible for any courses dropped during this period. In the following weeks prior to or on the withdrawal date students may withdraw from a course with the grade of "W" appearing on their transcript. After the withdrawal date students may not withdraw from courses. Check the University Calendar (opens in new tab/window) for exact dates. See the full policy by clicking here (opens in new tab/window).

Incomplete Policy: The grade "I" (an "incomplete") is only given if students cannot complete the course work due to circumstances beyond their control. It is necessary for the student to have completed the majority of the course work with a passing average and to sign an incomplete contract which clearly states what is left for the student to do and the deadline by which the work must be completed. The incomplete contract must also include a default grade that will be used in case the "I" grade is not resolved by the agreed deadline. See the full policy by clicking here (opens in new tab/window).

Student Support Services: The following academic support services are available to students (all links open in a new tab/window):
    The Math Consulting Center
    Student Success Center
    University Libraries
    Undergraduate Research Support
    Career Center
    Tuttleman Counseling Services
    Disability Resources and Services
If you are experiencing food insecurity or financial struggles, Temple provides resources and support. Notably, the Temple University Cherry Pantry and the Temple University Emergency Student Aid Program are in operation as well as a variety of resources from the Division of Student Affairs.