Networks and Dynamics

Catalog description

Today, networks and dynamics play fundamental roles throughout science, engineering and the social sciences. This is a post-calculus mathematics course that is designed to prepare students to understand the mathematical behavior of networks and dynamics as the students enter a broad set of majors -- from mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering through the social sciences such as economics and finance. The preliminary goal is to address the following challenge: today’s science and society at large requires us to understand complex networks (be it genetic network that makes us who we are, neural network underlying our brain functions, social network of friends through Facebook or WeChat) and how the behavior of such a complex network evolves in time. The language for providing a scientific understanding of such systems is the mathematics of network theory and dynamical systems theory. This course will introduce analytical methods and mathematical models from network and dynamical systems theory toward understanding dynamical network behavior. Prerequisite: Grade C or better in either MATH-SHU 131 (Calculus) or MATH-SHU 201 (Honors Calculus), and grade C or better in either MATH-SHU 140 (Linear Algebra) or MATH-SHU 141 (Honors Linear Algebra I) . Fulfillment: Biology elective; Economics elective; Math additional Math elective; Honors Math elective; NS elective; Engineering required.