2018-19 Catalog

Matlab: basic syntax and development environment; debugging; help interface; basic linear algebra; visualization and graphical output; control flow; vectorization; scripts, and functions; file i/o; arrays, structures, and strings; numerical analysis (topics may include curve fitting, interpolation, differentiation, integration, optimization, solving nonlinear equations, fast Fourier transform, and ODE solvers); and advanced topics (may include writing fast code, parallelization, object-oriented features). Mathematica: basic syntax and the notebook interface, calculus and linear algebra operations, numerical and symbolic solution of algebraic and differential equations, manipulation of lists and expressions, Mathematica programming (rule-based, functional, and procedural) and debugging, plotting, and visualization. The course will also emphasize good programming habits and choosing the appropriate language/software for a given scientific task.

Complex analysis: analyticity, Laurent series, contour integration, residue calculus. Ordinary differential equations: linear initial value problems, linear boundary value problems, Sturm-Liouville theory, eigenfunction expansions, transform methods, Green's functions. Linear partial differential equations: heat equation, separation of variables, Laplace equation, transform methods, wave equation, method of characteristics, Green's functions.

First term: Brief review of the elements of complex analysis and complex-variable methods. Asymptotic expansions, asymptotic evaluation of integrals (Laplace method, stationary phase, steepest descents), perturbation methods, WKB theory, boundary-layer theory, matched asymptotic expansions with first-order and high-order matching. Method of multiple scales for oscillatory systems. Second term: Applied spectral theory, special functions, generalized eigenfunction expansions, convergence theory. Gibbs and Runge phenomena and their resolution. Chebyshev expansion and Fourier Continuation methods. Review of numerical stability theory for time evolution. Fast spectrally-accurate PDE solvers for linear and nonlinear Partial Differential Equations in general domains. Integral-equations methods for linear partial differential equation in general domains (Laplace, Helmholtz, Schroedinger, Maxwell, Stokes). Homework problems in both 101 a and 101 b include theoretical questions as well as programming implementations of the mathematical and numerical methods studied in class.

This is an intermediate linear algebra course aimed at a diverse group of students, including junior and senior majors in applied mathematics, sciences and engineering. The focus is on applications. Matrix factorizations play a central role. Topics covered include linear systems, vector spaces and bases, inner products, norms, minimization, the Cholesky factorization, least squares approximation, data fitting, interpolation, orthogonality, the QR factorization, ill-conditioned systems, discrete Fourier series and the fast Fourier transform, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, the spectral theorem, optimization principles for eigenvalues, singular value decomposition, condition number, principal component analysis, the Schur decomposition, methods for computing eigenvalues, non-negative matrices, graphs, networks, random walks, the Perron-Frobenius theorem, PageRank algorithm.

This course is about the fundamental concepts in real and functional analysis that are vital for many topics and applications in mathematics, physics, computing and engineering. The aim of this course is to provide a working knowledge of functional analysis with an eye especially for aspects that lend themselves to applications. The course gives an overview of the interplay between different functional spaces and focuses on the following three key concepts: Hahn-Banach theorem, open mapping and closed graph theorem, uniform boundedness principle. Other core concepts include: normed linear spaces and behavior of linear maps, completeness, Banach spaces, Hilbert spaces, Lp spaces, duality of normed spaces and dual operators, dense subspaces and approximations, hyperplanes, compactness, weak and weak* convergence. More advanced topics include: spectral theory, compact operators, theory of distributions (generalized functions), Fourier analysis, calculus of variations, Sobolev spaces with applications to PDEs, weak solvability theory of boundary value problems.

The sequence covers the introductory methods in both theory and implementation of numerical linear algebra, approximation theory, ordinary differential equations, and partial differential equations. The linear algebra parts covers basic methods such as direct and iterative solution of large linear systems, including LU decomposition, splitting method (Jacobi iteration, Gauss-Seidel iteration); eigenvalue and vector computations including the power method, QR iteration and Lanczos iteration; nonlinear algebraic solvers. The approximation theory includes data fitting; interpolation using Fourier transform, orthogonal polynomials and splines; least square method, and numerical quadrature. The ODE parts include initial and boundary value problems. The PDE parts include finite difference and finite element for elliptic/parabolic/hyperbolic equation. Stability analysis will be covered with numerical PDE. Programming is a significant part of the course.

Covers the basic algebraic, geometric, and topological properties of normed linear spaces, inner-product spaces, and linear maps. Emphasis is placed both on rigorous mathematical development and on applications to control theory, data analysis and partial differential equations.

This course provides an introduction to Bayesian Statistics and its applications to data analysis in various fields. Topics include: discrete models, regression models, hierarchical models, model comparison, and MCMC methods. The course combines an introduction to basic theory with a hands-on emphasis on learning how to use these methods in practice so that students can apply them in their own work. Previous familiarity with frequentist statistics is useful but not required.

This class studies mathematical optimization from the viewpoint of convexity. Topics covered include duality and representation of convex sets; linear and semidefinite programming; connections to discrete, network, and robust optimization; relaxation methods for intractable problems; as well as applications to problems arising in graphs and networks, information theory, control, signal processing, and other engineering disciplines.

This course introduces students to the fundamental concepts, methods, and models of applied probability and stochastic processes. The course is application oriented and focuses on the development of probabilistic thinking and intuitive feel of the subject rather than on a more traditional formal approach based on measure theory. The main goal is to equip science and engineering students with necessary probabilistic tools they can use in future studies and research. Topics covered include sample spaces, events, probabilities of events, discrete and continuous random variables, expectation, variance, correlation, joint and marginal distributions, independence, moment generating functions, law of large numbers, central limit theorem, random vectors and matrices, random graphs, Gaussian vectors, branching, Poisson, and counting processes, general discrete- and continuous-timed processes, auto- and cross-correlation functions, stationary processes, power spectral densities.

The course will start with a quick reminder on probability spaces, discrete and continuous random variables. It will cover the following core topics: branching processes, Poisson processes, limit theorems, Gaussian variables, vectors, spaces, processes and measures, the Brownian motion, Gaussian learning, game theory and decision theory (finite state space), martingales (concentration, convergence, Doob's inequalities, optional/optimal stopping, Snell's envelope), large deviations (introduction, if time permits).

The mathematical theory of ordinary and partial differential equations, including a discussion of elliptic regularity, maximal principles, solubility of equations. The method of characteristics.

Overview of measure theory. Random walks and the Strong law of large numbers via the theory of martingales and Markov chains. Characteristic functions and the central limit theorem. Poisson process and Brownian motion. Topics in statistics. Part b not offered in 2018-19.

Statistical Inference is a branch of mathematical engineering that studies ways of extracting reliable information from limited data for learning, prediction, and decision making in the presence of uncertainty. This is an introductory course on statistical inference. The main goals are: develop statistical thinking and intuitive feel for the subject; introduce the most fundamental ideas, concepts, and methods of statistical inference; and explain how and why they work, and when they don't. Topics covered include summarizing data, fundamentals of survey sampling, statistical functionals, jackknife, bootstrap, methods of moments and maximum likelihood, hypothesis testing, p-values, the Wald, Student's t-, permutation, and likelihood ratio tests, multiple testing, scatterplots, simple linear regression, ordinary least squares, interval estimation, prediction, graphical residual analysis.

This course covers classical and modern approaches to problems in signal processing. Problems may include denoising, deconvolution, spectral estimation, direction-of-arrival estimation, array processing, independent component analysis, system identification, filter design, and transform coding. Methods rely heavily on linear algebra, convex optimization, and stochastic modeling. In particular, the class will cover techniques based on least-squares and on sparse modeling. Throughout the course, a computational viewpoint will be emphasized.

Subject matter covered: differential geometry of curves and surfaces, classical exterior calculus, discrete exterior calculus, sampling and reconstruction of differential forms, low dimensional algebraic and computational topology, Morse theory, Noether's theorem, Helmholtz-Hodge decomposition, structure preserving time integration, connections and their curvatures on complex line bundles. Applications include elastica and rods, surface parameterization, conformal surface deformations, computation of geodesics, tangent vector field design, connections, discrete thin shells, fluids, electromagnetism, and elasticity.

Graded pass/fail only.

This course offers an introduction to the theory of Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) commonly encountered across mathematics, engineering and science. The goal of the course is to study properties of different classes of linear and nonlinear PDEs (elliptic, parabolic and hyperbolic) and the behavior of their solutions using tools from functional analysis with an emphasis on applications. We will discuss representative models from different areas such as: heat equation, wave equation, advection-reaction-diffusion equation, conservation laws, shocks, predator prey models, Burger's equation, kinetic equations, gradient flows, transport equations, integral equations, Helmholtz and Schrdinger equations and Stoke's flow. In this course you will use analytical tools such as Gauss's theorem, Green's functions, weak solutions, existence and uniqueness theory, Sobolev spaces, well-posedness theory, asymptotic analysis, Fredholm theory, Fourier transforms and spectral theory. More advanced topics include: Perron's method, applications to irrotational flow, elasticity, electrostatics, special solutions, vibrations, Huygens' principle, Eikonal equations, spherical means, retarded potentials, water waves, various approximations, dispersion relations, Maxwell equations, gas dynamics, Riemann problems, single- and double-layer potentials, Navier-Stokes equations, Reynolds number, potential flow, boundary layer theory, subsonic, supersonic and transonic flow.

Topic varies by year. 2018-2019: Convexity. This class offers an overview of discrete and continuous aspects of convex geometry with some computational applications. Material may include geometry of convex sets and functions, facial geometry of convex sets, convexity in infinite dimensions, polarity and duality theory, ellipsoids, polytopes, lattices and lattice points, geometric probability.

Finite difference and finite volume methods for hyperbolic problems. Stability and error analysis of nonoscillatory numerical schemes: i) linear convection: Lax equivalence theorem, consistency, stability, convergence, truncation error, CFL condition, Fourier stability analysis, von Neumann condition, maximum principle, amplitude and phase errors, group velocity, modified equation analysis, Fourier and eigenvalue stability of systems, spectra and pseudospectra of nonnormal matrices, Kreiss matrix theorem, boundary condition analysis, group velocity and GKS normal mode analysis; ii) conservation laws: weak solutions, entropy conditions, Riemann problems, shocks, contacts, rarefactions, discrete conservation, Lax-Wendroff theorem, Godunov's method, Roe's linearization, TVD schemes, high-resolution schemes, flux and slope limiters, systems and multiple dimensions, characteristic boundary conditions; iii) adjoint equations: sensitivity analysis, boundary conditions, optimal shape design, error analysis. Interface problems, level set methods for multiphase flows, boundary integral methods, fast summation algorithms, stability issues. Spectral methods: Fourier spectral methods on infinite and periodic domains. Chebyshev spectral methods on finite domains. Spectral element methods and h-p refinement. Multiscale finite element methods for elliptic problems with multiscale coefficients.

Stable laws, Markov chains, classification of states, ergodicity, von Neumann ergodic theorem, mixing rate, stationary/equilibrium distributions and convergence of Markov chains, Markov chain Monte Carlo and its applications to scientific computing, Metropolis Hastings algorithm, coupling from the past, martingale theory and discrete time martingales, rare events, law of large deviations, Chernoff bounds.

The topic of this course changes from year to year and is expected to cover areas such as stochastic differential equations, stochastic control, statistical estimation and adaptive filtering, empirical processes and large deviation techniques, concentration inequalities and their applications. Examples of selected topics for stochastic differential equations include continuous time Brownian motion, Ito's calculus, Girsanov theorem, stopping times, and applications of these ideas to mathematical finance and stochastic control.

Development and analysis of algorithms used in the solution of fluid mechanics problems. Numerical analysis of discretization schemes for partial differential equations including interpolation, integration, spatial discretization, systems of ordinary differential equations; stability, accuracy, aliasing, Gibbs and Runge phenomena, numerical dissipation and dispersion; boundary conditions. Survey of finite difference, finite element, finite volume and spectral approximations for the numerical solution of the incompressible and compressible Euler and Navier-Stokes equations, including shock-capturing methods.

Introduction to finite element methods. Development of the most commonly used method-continuous, piecewise-linear finite elements on triangles for scalar elliptic partial differential equations; practical (a posteriori) error estimation techniques and adaptive improvement; formulation of finite element methods, with a few concrete examples of important equations that are not adequately treated by continuous, piecewise-linear finite elements, together with choices of finite elements that are appropriate for those problems. Homogenization and optimal design. Topics covered include periodic homogenization, G- and H-convergence, Gamma-convergence, G-closure problems, bounds on effective properties, and optimal composites.