Intro to Dyn Sys for Scientist

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This is a one-semester course introducing students to linear algebra and ordinary differential equations by way of their scientific usage. The course serves as a gateway to more advance mathematical methods that are commonly used in contemporary scientific studies and their literature. Students will learn how to take a mathematical approach to various scientific problems, solve the resulting equations, and interpret the mathematical solution in the original context. There will be course projects and some usage of computing software. Topics include matrix algebra, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, vector-valued functions, linear and non-linear systems of differential equations, and phase portraits. The scientific topics include age-structured population growth, the Richardson's theory of war, and infectious disease modeling.