Instructor: Dr Manjil P. Saikia
Contact: [email protected] (please only use this email address to send me emails related to this course)
Lecture Time & Place: Wednesdays & Fridays 1100 to 1215 (Room XXX, SAS)
Office Hours: XXX
Attendance Policy: Attendance is mandatory, check the institute’s attendance policy on AURIS (please note, we have a new policy from last semester). If you are low on attendance then you should talk to me (at least 3 weeks before the end-semester examination).
Course Details
Available on AURIS, we will follow the syllabus (more or less), but there will be a few digressions. So, I encourage you to keep notes.
Reading Materials
There is no fixed textbook for this course. I will try to provide the materials to be discussed before each lecture. Students are expected to read up on the shared material. In addition, I will share resources below after every lecture.
To get a high-level overview of mathematics, I recommend Mathematics: A Very Short Introduction by Timothy Gowers (Oxford University Press, 2002).
Grading
- Assignment: There will be a weekly assignment based on the materials covered in the respective week. This will contribute 20% to the total score.
- Presentation: Students are expected to learn a mathematically rigorous proof of their favourite result and present it. This will contribute 20% to the total score.
- Written Report: Students will have to write the content of their presentation in an article format, and submit at least 2 days before their presentation. This will contribute 20% to the total score.
- Mid-Semester Examination: We will have a 120-minute written exam (closed book), this will count towards 20% of the total score.
- End-Semester Examination: We will have a 120-minute written exam (closed book), this will count towards 20% of the total score.
To get an A grade, you must score atleast 80% overall. However, this doesn’t automatically guarantee an A.
Lectures
W 08/10: Introduction to the course, historical overview of mathematical thought
Assignments
- The problem sets will be updated over the semester. I will announce this in class when I post a set here.
- To get the most out of this course, you are expected to spend at least twice the amount of lecture hours on your own.
Submissions
- Due time: 11:59 am of each due date
- Must be submitted as PDF (via email) or printed/written (slide under my office door)
- Begin each solution on a new page, and use only blank or dotted pages (not ruled)
- Staple the submission, if submitting a paper version
- State your sources at the top of each problem (even if you worked independently)
Late Policy
- Penalty: Late submissions will be penalized by 25% per each late day
- Extensions: There will be no extensions given
Collaborations
- You are encouraged to first work on the problems independently before seeking collaboration.
- Meaningful collaboration is allowed and is encouraged for this course.
- You must write up your solutions.
Acknowledging collaborators and sources
It is required to acknowledge your sources (even if you worked independently).
- At the beginning of the submission for each problem, write Collaborators and sources: followed by a list of collaborators and sources consulted (people, books, papers, websites, software, etc.), or write none if you did not use any such resources.
- Failure to acknowledge will result in an automatic 20% penalty per problem.
- Acceptable uses of resources include: looking up a standard theorem/formula/technique; using Wolfram Alpha/Mathematica/Python for a calculation (no need to mention lectures)
- Unacceptable uses of resources include: directly looking up the problem online or in the research literature for a solution. (Once you have solved a problem, it is fine to seek and learn alternate solutions.)
Intentional violations of the above policies may be considered academic dishonesty/misconduct.
(Thanks to Professor Yufei Zhao for his extensive course policy page, from which I have created my policies.)