2025 Fall Course Syllabus - Mathematics 4096.001

Senior problem solving/Applied Mathematics

3

In person

T,R 9:30-10:50

Wachman Hall 009

Yury Grabovsky

yury@temple.edu

Wachman Hall 616

N/A

W: 4-5 (dedicated office hours)

T,R 3-5(Office hours shared with Calculus III, but everyone is welcome)

Lecture notes posted on Canvas will be sufficient.

Optional textbook: A Surveyof IndustrialMathematics by C. R. MacCluer

 

The student’s grade will consist of 50% homework, 20% Midterm Project, 30% Final project. Two lowest HW grades will be dropped. This is done to accommodate unforeseen circumstances that pervent a student to do well on an
occasional assignment. It is not intended to improve the HW grade! The grade scale is as follows:
A:90–100; A-:85–89; B+:80–84; B:70–79; B-:65–69; C+:60–64; C:50–59; C-:45–50; D+:40–44; D:30–40; D-:25–29; F:0–24.

Calculus I-III, Differential equations, Linear Algebra

The course has a dual goal. One is to teach students to use knowledge from their mathematics courses in applications. The other, is to broaden students’ awareness of other important topics, not covered in basic mathematics courses. Along the way the students will learn Matlab and use it for all hands-on assignments and projects. 

This is also a writing-intensive course, and students will learn the writing styles practiced in mathematics: Formal proof writing, as well as expository writing common in introductions to mathematical papers and books. Weekly homeworks will provide ample practice for clear proof writing, while the Midterm and Term projects will allow students to master their expository writing skills.

Each HW must be resubmitted after a revision taking instructor's comments into account. Each of the two projects require submission of preliminary reports that will be edited after instructor's feedback.

Solving mathematical problems arising in applications very often require knowledge of subject other than mathematics. It does not mean that students are expected to possess the required breadth. Instead the students will necessarily need to consult other sources: textbooks, scientific papers, online resources, all of which need to be properly cited and attributed. The two projects will provide good practice of this kind of skill.

 

• Probability and Statistics
• Regression/Least squares
• Modeling with ODEs
• Modeling with PDEs

Midterm project: Preliminary report due Saturday Sept. 13; Final Midterm project report due Saturday October 4.

Term project: Preliminary report due Saturday November 15; Final Term project report due Saturday December 6.

Preliminary Term project presentations (blackboard): November 11, 13

Term project Final Presentations(computer): November 18, 20, December 2, 4.

Mandatory

The students are expected to have access to computers running Matlab (Temple has a campus-wide license and Tech center has computers with Matlab installed). Online HW submission via Canvas is required. Laptops for presentation are optional, as presentations can be projected from the instructor's laptop.

The homework is due every week and will consist of about 5 problems from the Homework sections in the lecture notes. The students will be required to submit improved solutions of problems correcting their mistakes and/or improving presentation style and clarity. Each HW is due at midnight on Saturdays. The HW must be typeset in LaTeX---lingua Franca of mathematical writing. The grading will occur on Mondays. HW that is less than one week late is always accepted (no need to ask for permission). However, if the HW is submitted late it might not get graded until next Monday, delaying the opportunity to submit revisions. No HW that is more than 1 week late will be accepted. (Two lowest grades will be dropped to accommodate unforeseen circumstances.)

is a high-level programming language with very shallow learning curve. The fastest
and easiest way to learn Matlab is by going through their online tutorial:
https://www.mathworks.com/learn/tutorials/matlab-onramp.html
This is sufficient for the course. Estimated (by Mathworks) learning time is 2h. Please
remember that when you do your Matlab assignments the use of variable precision arithmetics
“vpa” and symbolic math toolboxes are strictly prohibited.

To achieve course learning goals, students must attend and participate in classes, according to the course requirements. However, if you have tested positive for or are experiencing symptoms of a contagious illness, you should not come to campus or attend in-person  classes or activities. It is the student’s responsibility to contact me to create a plan for participation and engagement in the course as soon as you are able to do so, and to make a plan to complete all assignments in a timely fashion.

It is important to foster a respectful and productive learning environment that includes all students in our diverse community of learners. Our differences, some of which are outlined in the University's nondiscrimination statement, will add richness to this learning experience. Therefore, all opinions and experiences, no matter how different or controversial they may be perceived, must be respected in the tolerant spirit of academic discourse. 

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.

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).

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).

The use of generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT, DALL-E, etc.) is not permitted in this class unless specifically announced for a particular assignment; therefore, any use of AI tools for work in this class may be considered a violation of Temple University's Academic Honesty policy and Student Conduct Code, since the work is not your own. The use of unauthorized AI tools will result in a grade of zero on the assignment; a second offense will be reported to the Student Conduct Board.

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).

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.