Natural Sciences (/academics/areas-of-study/natural%20sciences)

Applied and
Computational
Mathematics
ACCESS COURSE OFFERINGS (HTTPS://REGISTRAR.PRINCETON.EDU/COURSE-
OFFERINGS/SEARCH_RESULTS.XML?TERM=1182&SUBJECT=APC)

EGR 192 / MAT 192 / PHY 192 / APC 192

Taken concurrently with EGR/MAT/PHY 191.

An Integrated An integrated course that covers the material
Introduction to of PHY 103 and MAT 201 with the emphasis
on applications to engineering. Math topics
Engineering, include: vector calculus; partial derivatives and
matrices; line integrals; simple differential
Mathematics, Physics equations; surface and volume integrals; and
Green’s, Stokes’s, and divergence theorems.
Professor/Instructor
One lecture, two preceptorials.
Christine Jiayou Taylor

APC 199 / MAT 199

 An exploration of some of the mathematical
Math Alive ideas behind important modern applications,
from banking and computing to listening to
Professor/Instructor
music. Intended for students who have not had
college-level mathematics and are not
planning to major in a mathematically based
field. The course is organized in independent
two-week modules focusing on particular
applications, such as bar codes, CD-players,
population models, and space flight. The
emphasis is on ideas and mathematical
reasoning, not on sophisticated mathematical
techniques. Two 90-minute classes, one
computer laboratory.

MAT 323 / APC 323

Draws problems from the sciences &

Topics in engineering for which mathematical models
Mathematical have been developed and analyzed to
describe, understand and predict natural and
Modeling man-made phenomena. Emphasizes model
building strategies, analytical and
Professor/Instructor computational methods, and how scientific
Zahra Aminzare problems motivate new mathematics. This
interdisciplinary course in collaboration with
Molecular Biology, Psychology and the
Program in Neuroscience is directed toward
upper class undergraduate students and first-
year graduate students with knowledge of
linear algebra and differential equations.

MAT 377 / APC 377

Combinatorics is the study of enumeration and

Combinatorial structure of discrete objects. These structures
Mathematics are widespread throughout mathematics,
including geometry, topology and algebra, as
Professor/Instructor well as computer science, physics and
Chun-Hung Liu optimization. This course will give an
introduction to modern techniques in the field,
and how they relate to objects such as
polytopes, permutations and hyperplane
arrangements.
GEO 441 / APC 441

An introduction to weak numerical methods

Computational used in computational geophysics. Finite- and
Geophysics spectral-elements, representation of fields,
quadrature, assembly, local versus global
Professor/Instructor meshes, domain decomposition, time
Jeroen Tromp marching and stability, parallel
implementation and message-passing, and
load-balancing. Parameter estimation and
“imaging” using data assimilation techniques
and related “adjoint” methods. Labs provide
experience in meshing complicated surfaces
and volumes as well as solving partial
differential equations relevant to geophysics.
Prerequisites: MAT 201; partial differential
equations and basic programming skills. Two
90-minute lectures.

ELE 486 / APC 486

An introduction to lossless data compression

Transmission and algorithms, modulation/demodulation of
Compression of digital data, error correcting codes, channel
capacity, lossy compression of analog and
Information digital sources. Three hours of lectures.
Prerequisites: 301, ORF 309.
Professor/Instructor
Emmanuel Auguste Abbe

MAE 501 / APC 501

Methods of mathematical analysis for the

Mathematical Methods solution of problems in physics and
of Engineering engineering. Topics include an introduction to
functional analysis, Sturm-Liouville theory,
Analysis I Green’s functions for the solution of ordinary
differential equations and Poisson’s equation,
Professor/Instructor and the calculus of variations.
Clarence Worth Rowley III

CBE 502 / APC 502

 Linear ordinary differential equations (systems
Mathematical Methods of first-order equations, method of Frobenius,
of Engineering two-point boundary-value problems); spectrum
and Green’s function; matched asymptotic
Analysis II expansions; partial differential equations
(classification, characteristics, uniqueness,
Professor/Instructor separation of variables, transform methods,
Sankaran Sundaresan similarity); and Green’s function for the
Poisson, heat, and wave equations, with
applications to selected problems in chemical,
civil, and mechanical engineering.

APC 503 / AST 557

Local analysis of solutions to linear and

Analytical Techniques nonlinear differential and difference equations.
in Differential Asymptotic methods, asymptotic analysis of
integrals, perturbation theory, summation
Equations methods, boundary layer theory, WKB theory,
and multiple scale theory. Prerequisite: MAE
Professor/Instructor 306 or equivalent.

MAE 502 / APC 506

A complementary presentation of theory,

Mathematical Methods analytical methods, and numerical methods.
of Engineering The objective is to impart a set of capabilities
commonly used in the research areas
Analysis II represented in the Department. Standard
computational packages will be made
Professor/Instructor available in the courses, and assignments will
Clarence Worth Rowley III be designed to use them. An extension of MAE
501.

APC 509

This course derives how and why chemical

Methods and Concepts bonds between atoms form, leading to the
in Electronic Structure creation of molecules and condensed matter.
State-of-the-art electronic structure theory
Theory methods are discussed and compared in
terms of strengths, weaknesses, and
Professor/Instructor numerical implementations. Students will
John A. Keith learn how to predict molecular structure,
qualitative character of the electron
distribution (hybridization), and relative
chemical bond strengths directly from a simple
multi-electron wavefunction. Condensed
matter electronic structure will be introduced
via band theory, followed by an analysis of the
pros and cons of modern density functional
theory methods.

MAT 585 / APC 520

This course focuses on spectral methods

Mathematical Analysis useful in the analysis of big data sets. Spectral
of Massive Data Sets methods involve the construction of matrices
(or linear operators) directly from the data and
Professor/Instructor the computation of a few leading eigenvectors
Amit Singer and eigenvalues for information extraction.
Examples include the singular value
decomposition and the closely related
principal component analysis; the PageRank
algorithm of Google for ranking web sites; and
spectral clustering methods that use
eigenvectors of the graph Laplacian.

MAT 522 / APC 522

The course is a basic introductory graduate

Introduction to PDE course in partial differential equations. Topics
include: Laplacian, properties of harmonic
Professor/Instructor
functions, boundary value problems, wave
Sun-Yung Alice Chang
equation, heat equation, Schrodinger equation,
hyperbolic conservation laws, Hamilton-Jacobi
equations, Fokker-Planck equations, basic
function spaces and inequalities, regularity
theory for second order elliptic linear PDE, De
Giorgi method, basic harmonic analysis
methods, linear evolution equations,
existence, uniqueness and regularity results
for classes of nonlinear PDE with applications
to equations of nonlinear and statistical
physics.
APC 523 / AST 523 / MAE 507
Numerical Algorithms
for Scientific
Computing
Professor/Instructor
Michael Edward Mueller
APC 524 / MAE 506 / AST 506
Software Engineering
for Scientific
Computing
Professor/Instructor
ORF 550 / APC 550
Topics in Probability
Professor/Instructor
Ramon van Handel
A broad introduction to scientific computation
using examples drawn from astrophysics. From
computer science, practical topics including
processor architecture, parallel systems,
structured programming, and scientific
visualization will be presented in tutorial style.
Basic principles of numerical analysis,
including sources of error, stability, and
convergence of algorithms. The theory and
implementation of techniques for linear and
nonlinear systems of equations, ordinary and
partial differential equations will be
demonstrated with problems in stellar
structure and evolution, stellar and galactic
dynamics, and cosmology.
The goal of this course is to teach basic tools
and principles of writing good code, in the
context of scientific computing. Specific topics
include an overview of relevant compiled and
interpreted languages, build tools and source
managers, design patterns, design of
interfaces, debugging and testing, profiling and
improving performance, portability, and an
introduction to parallel computing in both
shared memory and distributed memory
environments. The focus is on writing code
that is easy to maintain and share with others.
Students will develop these skills through a
series of programming assignments and a
group project.
An introduction to nonasymptotic methods for
the study of random structures in high
dimension that arise in probability, statistics,
computer science, and mathematics.
Emphasis is on developing a common set of
 tools that has proved to be useful in different
areas. Topics may include: concentration of
measure; functional, transportation cost,
martingale inequalities; isoperimetry; Markov
semigroups, mixing times, random fields;
hypercontractivity; thresholds and influences;
Stein’s method; suprema of random
processes; Gaussian and Rademacher
inequalities; generic chaining; entropy and
combinatorial dimensions; selected
applications.

MAE 541 / APC 571

Phase-plane methods and single-degree-of-

Applied Dynamical freedom nonlinear oscillators; invariant
Systems manifolds, local and global analysis, structural
stability and bifurcation, center manifolds, and
Professor/Instructor normal forms; averaging and perturbation
Clarence Worth Rowley III methods, forced oscillations, homoclinic
orbits, and chaos; and Melnikov’s method, the
Smale horseshoe, symbolic dynamics, and
strange attractors. Offered in alternate years.

AOS 576 / APC 576

An introduction to topics of current interest in

Current Topics in the dynamics of large-scale atmospheric flow.
Dynamic Meteorology Possible topics include wave-mean flow
interaction and nonacceleration theorems,
Professor/Instructor critical levels, quasigeostrophic instabilities,
Isaac M. Held topographically and thermally forced stationary
waves, theories for stratospheric sudden
warmings and the quasi-biennial oscillation of
the equatorial stratosphere, and quasi-
geostrophic turbulence.
More in Academics
Studying at Princeton

Library

Areas of Study

Humanities

Social Sciences

Engineering

Natural Sciences

Advising

Academic Calendar

Course Tools

Learning Abroad

Career Development

Continuing Education

Innovative Learning