This is a new course, which will be offered starting with Fall 2000. Its goal is to offer the computer and presentation skills necessary for a successful career in graduate school (and - hopefully - beyond). If you would like to get a rough idea about what we want to do, please take a look to a similar course being offered at Texas A&M.
Course description. The purpose of this course is to familiarize students with the computer tools that are relevant for mathematical research in today's environment. It is intended primarily for graduate students and math majors, but it is useful for anybody interested in these topics.
The topics we plan to discuss include the Unix and Linux operating systems, a multi-functional text editor (emacs), software for mathematical publications (TeX and its dialects), languages for formal and numerical computations (Maple, Mathematica, Matlab), web-publishing (HTML) and Internet use (mail, electronic archives etc.). We will also mention a few principles of writing and presenting a mathematical paper.
The course will consist of weekly workshops accompanied by hands-on applications in the computer lab of the Math Department, followed by individual projects. These projects (e.g., typesetting a short mathematical paper, designing a web-page, writing programs in various languages) will give the students the opportunity to practice the notions they are being taught.
The material used for this course will be either available on the web or
handed out in class.
Content of the course (under development):