AMS 321: Computer Projects in Applied Mathematics

Fall 2008

By Professor Yuefan Deng

Email:  Yuefan.Deng@StonyBrook.edu


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Notes

For fall 2008 semester: Updated 10/6/2008

 

1.       Project 2 collection date is 10/8 so be prepared for that.

2.       Today (10/6) lecture will be focused on Project 3 whose collection date is two weeks from 10/8.

3.       An in-class mid-term is tentatively planned for 10/29 during class time and the date will be confirmed after discussion of it with class.

4.       TA Peng has posted useful information about Project 2 on his personal website: www.ams.sunysb.edu/~penzhang. So, please try to visit his site before you invested too much time on it.

1.       Peng will come to class to work with you on Project 2 and I also advised him to give you a brief presentation on how to do the project and how he grades your reports. I encourage you to attend.

2.       I have added a very important hint for Project 1 so please view it before you make a very serious mistake (and likely wasting a lot of time.)

3.       Project 1 collection date is Wednesday (9/24) at 5PM. Please email to the TA of your project report containing the four parts for each problem. TA email: penzhang@ams.sunysb.edu.

4.       On Monday (9/22), I would lecture for 2/3 of the lecture time on Project 2.

5.       Please email me or my TA your questions on Projects or other comments.

6.       No class on Wednesday 10/1.

7.       I’m planning a mid-term in-class test around mid- to late October. You may suggest a date (only class date and time slots.)

 

8.       We finally have a stable TA for the course; I would post his information in “Info” so please contact him when you need help.

9.       Projects 3, 2, and 1 are posted so click “Projects” to view them. Please check the due date before you rush to the problems. No need to rush and they are posted so early that you know better what’s involved in the course.

10.  I have made one revision to Project 2 after today (Monday, 9/15) lecture so please check it before working on it.

 

11.  To enable you to decide to stay or leave the class, I have set up the Project 1 (view it by clicking “Projects”). The collection date is Wednesday (9/24) so there is nothing to panic about.

12.  When convenient, please go to the classroom to set up your account on the classroom computer by following the direction posted in the room. Students who are registered have already been enabled to set up account (although you need to do the actual setup.)

13.  Sample projects can be found by clicking “Notes”

14.  Please make sure you have the following skills before registering (don’t get too nervous on the prerequisites; all you need here is a basic skill and desire to learn):

(1)   Have written at least 500 lines (total) of programs in C or C++ or C# or Java or FORTRAN or other high-level languages (obviously, this course is not for you if you have never written any programs before)

(2)   Understand basic calculus (up to Calculus II): integration, differentiation, and a little ODEs

(3)   Some statistics (definitions of means, errors, correlations, Monte Carlo methods …)

(4)   Very basic numerical analysis: finite difference, error analysis…

15.  Students may use his or her own laptop for all course projects and exams although it’s advisable to use the classroom computers

16.  Your TA will grade your projects with a classroom computer so, if you use your own laptop, you must make sure it’s compatible with the classroom Linux or Windows platforms

17.  This is the only official site for the course so please check it regularly for announcements for other course related issues, e.g., project assignment, grading, grades, classroom change, cancellation, etc. In very unlikely cases, we may have short notices

18.  Use emails to communicate with me or my TA regularly

19.  The classroom is S235 in Math Tower

20.  No project assignment for the first week

21.  Each project will allow you two weeks of time to work on

 

For fall 2007 semester:

 

22.  The final grading reports were all out. I will submit to SOLAR no later than 9AM on Sunday (12/23). Very difficult to change after this time.

23.  The final exam is to be held at 11:00-1:30PM on Friday 12/21/2007 in the regular classroom. The problems can be found by clicking Final-for-2007

24.  The optional Project 6 is posted on the web. Please don’t have too much imagination on what this project can do directly to your grades. I decide (with all fairness possible) to use the outcome of this project for people who may accidentally mess up the final.

25.  You should have received the grading report of Project 4 no later than 24 hours after its due date (11/12, 5PM). If not, please email me.

 

26.  Grades average: Proj1: 8.4; Proj2: 9.3; Proj3: 8.2; Mid: 7.4. 

27.  Project 5 is due on 12/3 so we have about one week left. I would use this week to have a review based on my grading feeling.   Email me if you think we should have an optional Project 6.

28.  On Monday (11/5), I will lecture on Project 4 one more time. Please attend it if you have issues with it.

 

29.  No new lecture on Wednesday. You work on Projects 3 and 4.

30.  Project-5 is posted so have a look at it. Without major influence, this is the last project, of course, excluding the final project.

31.  Remember, for the final project, you must have all four sections for each problem to gain full credit (description, programs with comments, results, and analysis).

32.  If you have not received my email for the midterm reports by Saturday (10/20) noon, please contact me immediately.

33.  Please submit your future projects from a Stony Brook email address with a subject line as “ProjX-Firstname-Lastname”. For the final, please use subject line “Final-Firstname-Lastname”. Please use firstname and lastname as used in the SOLAR roster. It’s very difficult for me to match the record if your email is superman@some-domain.com.

34.  Project 4 is ready on the web so please have a look at it and enjoy it!

35.  Midterm project is also finalized… and will not be final until I change the permission to allow you to view. This is great as I can change the test problems so freely.

36.  Check “Info” to find out my office hours and find me in my office during such time. If you have to meet at other times, please email first.

37.  As I reminded the class multiple times that personal laptops are encouraged to be used for projects, midterm, and final tests as long as the reports can be emailed to me. For tests, you must bring your laptop to do your work in the classroom S-235.

38.  Midterm will be held on the Linux side of the S-235 (new classroom) during our Friday (Oct 12) class time. Good luck!

39.  I was further informed that students who have tried to set up accounts on the Linux side of the room S-235 have been set up. Pat told me the account set up process is automated and you should be able to get your account set up without any problem if you are on the latest class roster.

40.  Project 3 is pre-assigned on my website. Please go to “Projects” to view it and start thinking about it. You will have three weeks to work on it.

41.  Please try to use my office hours (as posted on my web) effectively.

42.  Project 2 is pre-assigned on my website. Please go to “Projects” to view it and start thinking about it. You will have two weeks to work on it.

43.  Project 1 is assigned on my website. Please go to “Projects” to view it and start thinking about it. You will have two weeks to work on it.

44.  The classroom is S235 in Math Tower.

45.  No project assignment for the first week.

46.  Welcome to the 2007 ams321 class.

47.  Please check regularly my website for the classroom and time. In very unlikely cases, we may need to post changes to the location or time of the class.

 

For fall 2005:

 

1.       Final for 2005 is here: Final-2005.pdf. I’ll change the permission at 2:19PM on 12/14.

2.       All grades for all work (through project 5) are posted; please make sure they are correct. One student missed project 4 and two missed project 5. If these students want to get some points (we will deduct for being late), please try to submit ASAP.

3.       On Wednesday (12/7), I’ll review for the entire semester.  I may have told some students I was going to do it on Monday (12/12), I changed as it will not give you enough time to review.

4.       On Monday (12/5), I’ll not lecture on anything new but I’ll be in the classroom just in case you like to review on the projects.

5.       Our Final in-class project will be offered on Wednesday 12/14 at 2:20-4:50PM. Please make arrangement to allow this in-class project to take place on time and in the regular classroom. You will do any three of four projects.

6.       See you in class on Monday (11/28).

7.       Project five (the last project for the course) is posted on the web. Please read about the project and work on the details after my Monday (11/21)’s lecture. Good luck!

8.       Please check your grades on the web and make sure they are correct. I’ll use these numbers to compute the letter grades. I’ll immediately load the grades after I get the final test results so you will not have time to right any wrongs I may have here. This website is the ONLY place official grades are posted.

9.       Grades for all submitted projects (including midterm) are posted.

10.  I will lecture on Project 4 on 10/24. Please come to class if you like to learn how to do the project quickly.

11.  Project 4 is posted on the web. Please check and comment on it. The due date (11/09) is three weeks from today.

12.  Midterm Quiz is ready! You will be informed of the URL a few minutes before the test.

13.  I have revised “Notes” to reflect the fact that we will have one week of missing lectures due to holidays (10/3 and 10/5).

14.  Project II is extended to 10/12 noon time (just 2 hours and 20 minutes before 10/12’s class time which is used to offer Midterm Quiz.)

15.  Midterm Quiz is to be held on 10/12.

16.  Project III is also posted on the web… Please send me your feedback. I assume it’s not too difficult and not too easy.

17.  We finally have a TA (Ms. X X Zhang) for this course so please go to “Info” to find her information. All projects should be submitted to her as well as me. Please view “Info” to view the instructions of project submission.

18.  On Wednesday (9/21), I’ll work with you on Projects I and II. Project II is a bit harder than the average projects so please don’t be too disappointed if you spend too much time on it.

19.   On Monday (9/19), I’ll lecture on Project II.

20.  Project II is ready on the web. Please take a look at it while you work on your Project I. Please send your comments before I design Project III. Wednesday (9/14) is reserved for Project I. No lecture for Wed (9/14).

21.  Now, you all have your account. So, ignore the following: I finally got a hold of the person responsible for students’ accounts on the Linux machines in SINC site. They claimed that the problem that account setup fails is because the roster was not sent to their office. Now, the roster is sent manually and the systems are ready for you to set up accounts. Please set it up!

 

22.  Project 1 is ready so please take a look at it. My lecture on Wednesday will focus on this project. Project one is in PDF file so you need to be able to open PDF.

23.  Please make efforts to get your accounts on SINC machines.

24.  The classroom has been changed to SINC site in Math Tower: S-235 as of the second lecture (8/31). This is the new classroom for the course for the rest of the semester.

25.  Please use this website as your only source for information for ams321.

26.  Old Midterm Problems

(1)   Midterm-1996

(2)   Midterm-1997

(3)   Midterm-2001

(4)   Midterm-2002

(5)   Midterm-2003.doc

(6)   Midterm-2003.pdf

27.  Old Final Problems

(1)   Final-1995-HK (A course offered at HKUST)

(2)   Final-1996

(3)   Final-1997

(4)   Final-2000

(5)   Final-2000B

(6)   Final-2000C

(7)   Final-2001

(8)   Final-2002

(9)   Final-2003.doc, Final-2003.pdf

 

For fall 2004:

 

1.     If you need project-6’s grades, you must submit it by 5PM (12/8) for full consideration.

2.     I have no new material today (12/8/2004). To be fair to the entire class, I’m posting all old tests here. Please review your class by analyzing these projects. Of course, I’m not suggesting if this year’s final is similar but I promise you it helps to review them. You don’t have to show up in today’s class if you can get everything here:

3.     Final test problems for 2003 were posted on the web; please practice on them as such. I’m not suggesting the nature of the test problems for 2004. You benefit or risk by working on the 2003 willingly.

4.     No new lecture on Wednesday (11/17/2004) but I’ll be in the classroom to help answer questions for Proj. 5 and Proj. 6 (for some students). On Monday (11/22/2004), I’ll review for the entire semester.

5.     In response to requests from several students, I’ve designed one optional Project 6. This project should not have any effect on those with decent (above B+) scores. I’ll decide how to use the score; mostly I’ll lift people with very low total letter grades. You must submit it before Dec. 8 if you want it to be considered. You may ignore it, too.

6.     Project 5 is posted. Please check the web to see the latest project. Project 5 was assigned with consideration of one email saying Project 4 was a bit heavy. We may assign an optional Project 6.

7.     Midterm quiz will take place in classroom during class time. Make sure you can do it in the classroom even if you have to bring your own computer.

8.     Lecture on Project 4 is completed on Monday (10/11) and on Wednesday (10/13), we will discuss the methods for solving very simple ODEs (ordinary differential equations)

9.     Project 4 is on the web now; please view it. I’ll lecture on Project 4 on Monday (10/11)

10.            Erhan has informed me Project 2 was a good success; grades are posted

11.            Today (10/6), I’ll leave you time to work on Project 3

12.            Reference results for Problem 1 (C) is posted

13.            In-class midterm quiz will be held on 10/25 in the classroom during class time

14.            Project 3 (preliminary) is ready for review. It’s official assignment date: 09/29 and due date: 10/13

15.            Project 1 grading reports are ready on my web; please click “Grades” to see details

16.            Project 2 is due Sept 295PM. No late project will be accepted

17.            Today’s (9/16) class will focus on numerical integration. TA will demonstrate how to program in Linux

18.            Today’s (9/8) class will focus on Newton’s method

19.            Welcome to class. This year, we will have 36 students---a big class.

20.            The format for this semester is similar to that of the ’03. It is a project-oriented class and learning is centered on doing computer projects.

21.            This is the only official place for information for the class and most of our communication (assigning projects, collecting projects, grading reports) will be done through electronic means. No paper is ever exchanged during the entire semester.

 

 

For fall 2003:

 

1.      The format of the Final-2003 is very similar to that of Final-2002 and Final-2001. Working on those exams will help you familiar with Final-2003.

2.      Project 6 is posted on the web. This project is totally optional. In most cases it will not affect your final letter grade. It is my decision to use the grade when necessary.

3.      Final date, time, and room are confirmed: Monday (12/15) at 5-7:30PM in our usual computer classroom.

4.      Due to majority request, I have extended our Project 5’s deadline to Monday (Dec 8) 11:59PM.

5.      Today (11/19) I’ll lecture on Optimization for Project 5.

6.      I have received Seven suggestions for Project 5 (two want more difficult, two want less, and two say “already perfect”, one other like all two problems but would like me to lecture more on Problem 1). I’m taking the latest suggestion. I’ll post more details on Problem 1 of Project 5.

1.     All grades are posted through Project 3; please check. Project 5 is to be posted today (11/10). No new lectures for today (11/10) but I’ll be in classroom.

2.     We will hold in-class midterm on Oct 29 (Wednesday) during class time (80 minutes). As I mentioned, the midterm will contribute 15% to your total score for completing any two of four problems (open book).  Revised Sunday 10/19 at 1PM.

3.     Project II grades are posted; please check them out. Welcome feedback.

4.     Monday (Oct 20) is devoted fully to Project III for lecturing.

5.     TA Ms. Tatiana Polishchuk whose email is tessa@ams.sunysb.edu

6.     The final roster has already been submitted and all accounts have been created as of 5PM on Wednesday (9/10/'03).

7.     Now, you can activate your account. To do so, please select "command line login" on a SINC site computer, login as "new" and answer the questions.  Your account will be activated about 10 minutes after the request is made.

8.     If you have not registered for the class, obviously, you will not be able to activate your account. If you register after my submission (3PM Wednesday, 9/10), you will have to wait till next around when the system admin can create your accounts.

9.     Project 1 is ready on Thursday (9/11) but you have two weeks to complete the project after formal assignment date of Monday (9/15). This project is assigned earlier for your "course shopping" decision