Algebraic & Discrete Mathematics

Algebraic and discrete mathematics is recognized as an increasingly important and vital area of mathematics. Many of the fundamental ideas of discrete mathematics play an important role in formulating and solving problems in a variety of fields ranging from ecology to computer science. For instance, graph theory has been used to study competition of species in ecosystems, to schedule traffic lights at an intersection, and to synchronize parallel processors in a computer. Coding theory has been applied to problems from the private and public sectors where encoding and decoding information securely is the goal. In turn, the problems to which discrete mathematics is applied often yield new and interesting mathematical questions. The goal of a project in discrete mathematics would be to experience this interaction between theory and application. To begin, a typical project team would assess the current state of a problem and the theory that is relevant. Once this is done, the project team's objective would be to make a contribution to solving the problem by developing new mathematical results.

In working in discrete mathematics, one may be writing algorithms, using the computer as a modeling tool, and using the computer to test conjectures. It is important that a student interested in this area have some computer proficiency. Depending on the project, an understanding of algorithm analysis and computational complexity may be helpful.

Courses of Interest

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Last modified: October 02, 2006 12:07:00