Syllabus - Department of Mathematics, University of Washington

Math 480: Topics in Modeling – Winter 2015 — Syllabus
Time/Place: MWF, 11:30-12:20 in MGH 271.
Instructor: Prof. Sara Billey
e-mail: [email protected]
Office hours: Mondays 2:30-3:30
Grader: Patrick Lenning
e-mail: [email protected]
Office hours: TBA
Course webpage: http://www.math.washington.edu/~billey/classes/480
Textbook and other references:
The textbook is “Operations Research” by Wayne Winston, 4th edition, 2004. It is
available at the bookstore in hardcover and a pdf file is available on our class website.
The topics we will cover come from Combinatorics, Probability, and Optimization.
We will also read several published papers. Those will be available on the class website
as well. See the webpage for other references as well.
Mathematics in Service to the Community:
In order to learn about the modeling process, we need to study real world problems
that effect real people. We will seek out and solve problems related to the community
around us. Final projects can be inspired by some of the challenges faced by non-profit
organizations, government agencies, small businesses, or the university. This is a servicelearning course for which you can receive S credit on your transcript by satisfying the
requirements.
Course Project:
A major feature of this course is development of a course project to be handed in at
the end of the quarter. These modeling projects must be done in groups of at least 2
and at most 3 students. You can form groups on your own or we will help you to find
others with similar interests with whom you can work. The schedule for this project
is:
Friday, January 23:
Wednesday, February 4:
Monday, March 2:
Monday, March 9:
Wednesday, March 11:
Friday, March 13:
Wednesday March 18,
Project proposal due from each group.
Revised project proposal due.
Turn in first draft of course project
Oral presentations to peers.
Team evaluations due and oral review of peer projects.
Poster session, location to be announced.
By 4:00pm sharp, turn in 2 copies of
the course project to Padelford C-445.
Attendance for March 9, 11, and 13:
Attendance during the entire class time is mandatory for March 9,11,and 13. A 10%
penalty will occur for each day absent or tardy during this week. See also the section
on the Participation grade.
Homework:
There will be frequent homework assignments, sometimes small assignments due in
the following class and sometimes longer problem sets or writing assignments. Homeworks will often be discussed in class and then collected. Homework problems will be
worth 10 points each regardless of how many problems are on the assignment. Late
homework will be deducted 10% for each day it is late.
In-class assignments:
There will be several in-class assignments. These will be treated just like homework
problems for the purposes of grading.
Midterm:
There will be one midterm on Friday, February 20. You may bring one sheet of
handwritten notes (both sides) to the exam. There is no final exam; the written
course project is due during finals week.
Grading:
Course Project: 40%, Homework/In-Class Assignments: 35%,
Midterm: 20%, Participation: 5%.
Class participation:
It is essential that you come to class each time. Much of what we will discuss is not
in the notes. In order to fully appreciate the process of mathematical modeling, you
must be involved in development of numerous models, which is what we will often do
in class. We will often ask you to think about modeling issues between classes and
expect you to come to class prepared to contribute to the discussion. Participating
in these discussions is worth up to 5% of your grade. Furthermore, the material on
the midterm will come from the lectures.
Writing assignments:
Students in Math 480 earn W-credit for the writing assignments in this class. The
Course Project will be graded partly on the basis of writing style and clarity of
explanations. Some homework assignments will also require writing descriptions of
modeling problems or algorithms.
Computer programming:
Extensive computer programming is not required for this course, but you can tackle
more interesting modeling problems if you can use the computer to solve equations or
perform simulations. Some examples will be given in class, primarily using the Sage
programming environment. Sage is a collection of mathematical tools built on top of
Python. This is a very convenient package for testing simple algorithms, analyzing
data interactively, and plotting results.
Laptop Computers:
Students will need to bring a laptop to class for specific lectures beginning on Wednesday and Friday of the first week. If you don’t have a laptop available to you, you can
borrow one in the Odegard Library.
Other Resources:
For the course project, you will almost certainly have to do additional research on
your own. In fact, researching the right mathematical tools is an important part of
model building. Once you have a problem in mind, we can help direct you to some
additional material. You can solve your problem using any appropriate algorithm
known throughout the whole world. Feel free to ask your mathematically minded
friends and other professors for tips on appropriate algorithms and reference material.
If you do get useful suggestions, be sure to acknowledge them in your project.
MCM Contest: The annual Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM) will be held
February 5-9, 2015. If your team wants to enter, you need to register this month. I am
happy to be your advisor. You can drop your lowest homework grade if you compete
and submit your final paper to the contest. Please also turn in a copy to me.

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