Classes and workshops:
Publicity and involvement:
More about us:
Math Circle Program Information Letter 2012
- Program contact information
- The first day
(includes what students should bring each session) - Location and directions
- Academics
- Expectations
- Schedule
- Instructors and Speakers
Program contact information
-
Owen Lewis, Director
- Email: mathcircle(a)math.ucdavis.edu
-
Phone: Monday-Friday (business office)
(530) 752-0827 - Phone: Saturday mornings ONLY (computer lab): (530) 752-0828
- Office location: Mathematical Sciences Building Room 2129 (by appointment)
-
Postal address:
Explore MathCaution! If you decide to send us something via post, please send an email to alert us to check our mailbox.
Math Sciences Building
U.C. Davis
Davis, CA 95616
Parents: cell phone reception is extremely poor in the math department. If you need to reach your child during a workshop, you may use the computer lab number listed above. (Note that this is a public phone.)
The program website is located at http://www.math.ucdavis.edu/~exploration/mathcircle
The first day
Please arrange for your child to arrive at the Mathematical Sciences Building by 9:15 a.m.
Students should bring:
- a notebook, at least one pencil and/or pen, and an eraser. Coloured pencils/pens may come in handy.
- mathematical enthusiasm!
Location and Directions
Math Circle will take place at the Mathematical Sciences Building Room 2112, from 9:30a.m. - 12:30p.m., January 14-March 10, 2012.
The Mathematical Sciences Building
looks like this:
Floorplans of MSB can be found here: http://www.math.ucdavis.edu/contact/building_maps
You can view an interactive campus map here: http://cevs.ucdavis.edu/map
The closest public parking on weekends is Parking 46 (VP 46), located south of the Academic Surge Building. On weekends there is no charge for parking.
Directions to VP 46 from San Francisco:
- Drive on Interstate 80 East.
- Just before reaching Davis, turn north on Highway 113 North (note that you will encounter the 113 South turn-off before reaching the 113 North turn-off).
- Take Highway 113 North a short distance to the first exit at Hutchison Drive.
- Turn right on to Hutchison.
- Drive (east) about 1/2 mile on Hutchison until you reach La Rue Drive.
- Turn right on to La Rue Drive.
- Continue on La Rue Drive around the left bend and turn left into VP 46.
- Parking permits cost $6.00 per day on weekdays. Permit dispensers accept quarters, one-dollar bills, five-dollar bills or VISA and MasterCard. Parking is free on weekends and observed holidays, except when special event parking is enforced.
Directions from VP 46 to Mathematical Science Building:
- When you exit VP 46, take La Rue Drive eastward, and then turn left onto California Avenue.
- Go down the bike/foot path that California Avenue turns into. Pass the Watershed Science Research Center and Academic Surge Building.
- MSB is on your left. It is a large white building with a huge metal sculpture in front. There is a plan floor located on the walls of the front area/atrium.
Academics
Math Circle will take place every Saturday morning, 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (Please see attached schedule.)
Classes will be taught by graduate student instructors chosen for their passion for teaching and promise of research excellence. Brief bios of instructors and speakers may be found at the end of this letter.
We are very excited about the classes this winter, and we think our students will be too. Here are the titles and a brief description of each course.
(The following are Math Circle 2012 class descriptions.)
Mathematical Finance
Jeff Anderson
How can you learn to apply mathematics to model real world phenomena, understanding investing, and solve problems creatively? Where can you meet interesting people, express yourself and improve your ability to think critically? Answers to these questions are waiting for you to experience in Math Circle's six part series: Mathematical Finance: Understanding Options. Under the direction of Jeff Anderson, we will discover topics in mathematical finance including:- The Options Market: What are options and how do they work
- Options and Arbitrage: European Call and Put Options and Arbitrage
Examples
- The One Step Binomial Model: Pricing European Options using a one
period binomial model
- Multiperiod Binomial Model: Replication in the Multiperiod Binomial
Model
- Advanced Options Strategies: The Butterfly Spread
- Using Linear Programming to Detect Arbitrage: Optimization Applied to
Finance
Geometry
Yvonne Kemper
Despite being one of the oldest mathematical sciences, geometry is home to a large number of open problems which are easy to state...but difficult to prove! We will explore some of the open problems relating in particular to polyhedra, and discuss relevant notions and real-world applications, such as:- Triangulations
- Polynomials
- Lattice Points
- Voting Theory
- Graph Theory
Quantum Information Theory
Amanda Back
Quantum information processing refers to the science of communicating and computing through quantum systems. As a field of study it has developed rapidly in the last few decades and continues to do so today. We will learn the mathematical underpinnings of quantum information and computation along with some applications. Topics to be discussed include:
- Quantum Superposition
- Qubits and ways to represent them
- Measurements
- Single- and multi-qubit circuits
- Quantum entanglement and quantum teleportation
- Quantum Cryptography
Expectations
Our mission is to have fun doing great math.
To quote the Boston Math Circle: ``While the courses are mathematically rigorous, the atmosphere is friendly and relaxed. We want our students to feel free to express their ideas, to suggest their own approaches, and to make mistakes. We work in a spirit of friendship, cooperation, and enjoyment of one another.''
We expect students to maintain an atmosphere of respect and cooperation. Any students found severely disrupting such an atmosphere will not be allowed to return to the program.
Instructors and Speakers
Instructors
The Math Circle 2012 graduate student instructors are:
- Jeff Anderson
- Yvonne Kemper
- Amanda Back
Jeff
is a fourth year PhD candidate in Mathematics at UC Davis.
His PhD research focuses on Numerical Linear Algebra applied to problems in
Electrical Engineering. His first true love in mathematics is Linear
Algebra. His six favorite topics in mathematics include Linear Algebra,
Calculus, Mathematical Finance, Optimization, Statistics and Probability.
Jeff is also a dedicated teacher who believes deeply in the creative
talents and intelligence of his students. In his 10 years of experience as
an educator, he has been a lead instructor for Math 16A: Differential
Calculus offered at UC Davis, Math Circle, the JET Program, Seifukujitsu
Massage and DanZan Ryu Jujitsu. He has also been a teaching assistant at UC
Davis for 10 quarters and a volunteer math tutor for underrepresented
groups in mathematics.
Jeff encourages students of mathematics to
strive for SUCCESS:
Yvonne is a third-year grad student in the math department. Her research interests lie in the intersection of combinatorics, geometry, topology, and commutative algebra (ask her about matroids!). She completed her undergraduate education at UC Berkeley, where she majored in math and astrophysics. When not doing math, Yvonne is usually reading, hiking, or making a mess in the kitchen.
Amanda is in her first year of graduate study at UC Davis. She earned her BS in mathematics (with a minor in physics) from Tulane University and an MS in computational science from the same. Her master's research was on numerical integration through Landen transformations. Currently, her research interests are varied; they include chaos theory, experimental mathematics and dimensional analysis. When she's not thinking about math she's usually thinking about creatures, including, but not limited to, sea creatures, dinosaurs and bugs.
Director
Owen Lewis is a fourth year graduate student studying fluid dynamics and mathematical biology. He has taught two Math Circle courses in the past: Fractals and Chaos (2010), and Mathematical Biology (2011).
When Owen is not in MSB or working from home, he enjoys playing in the nearby Sierra Nevada mountain range. During the Summer months he is an avid backpacker and hiker. During the Winter, Owen spends the majority of his free time skiing or doing whatever he can to be on snow.