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Caltech Course Catalog / 2025-2026 Catalog / Courses 2025-26 / Applied Linear Algebra

ACM/IDS 104 - Applied Linear Algebra

ACM/IDS 104

Applied Linear Algebra

9 units (3-1-5)   |  first term
Prerequisites: Ma 1 abc, some familiarity with MATLAB, e.g. ACM 11 is desired.

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.

Instructor: Zuev
Published Date: Aug. 28, 2025