The purpose of these pages (which used to be part of a course) is to familiarize students with the computer and presentation skills that are relevant for mathematical research in today's environment. The couse was intended primarily for graduate students and math majors, but could be useful for anybody interested in these topics.
A similar course is being offered by Harold P. Boas at Texas A&M.
Course Description. The topics we plan to discuss include the Linux (Unix) 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 (PGH 648), 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.