Undergraduate Mathematics Seminar: Reading, presentation, and discussion of mathematical topics.
This is a one-credit honors-level seminar. The topics, and prerequisites, vary from semester to semester. Typically, the seminar focuses on a subject area in mathematics that is outside the usual undergraduate curriculum, and participants take turns lecturing.
Admission to the Junior-Senior Honors Seminar is by special permission. To apply, use the online special permission form for honors courses. Students in the mathematics honors track are automatically admitted; other students are admitted based on course record and recommendations by mathematics faculty. Students in the seminar are expected to participate actively by contributing to discussions, making presentations in the seminar, and collaborating with other students in preparing talks.
While almost all participants in the seminar are juniors or seniors, applications from exceptionally qualified freshman and sophomores are considered.
Questions may be sent to one of the Department of Mathematics honors advisors at .
Textbook and Syllabus
Textbook, syllabus, and content change each time the seminar is offered. See the individual course descriptions, or the current textbook list
Spring 2025 - Prof. Dima Sinapova
Textbooks: Jech, Set Theory, the Millenium Edition
We will cover topics from set theory, in particular combinatorial properties of infinite objects. Some of the concepts include introductory cardinal arithmetic, infinite trees, the Suslin hypothesis, regularity properties of the real numbers, the axiom of determinacy.
I will give the first couple of lectures, and then students will take turns presenting. We will be following various chapters in Jech, Set Theory. No prior knowledge of set theory is required.
Admission to the course is by application through the online special permission for honors courses form.
Spring 2021 - Prof Xiaojun Huang
In this one semester seminar course, we will read part of the materials from a very nice small book by S. Krantz: Complex Analysis, the Geometric Viewpoint, the Carus Mathematical Monographs (Number 23). This viewpoint starts with a classical paper by Ahlfors (An extension of Schwarz's lemma, Trans of the AMS 43(1938), 359-364). We will discuss the connection between some classical subjects in one complex variable with those in differential geometry. The prerequisite or corequisite for this course is Math 403, or permission of the instructor.
Notes
This seminar satisfies an honors track requirement.
There is also a U-seminar, for first or second year students.
This course is offered each Spring Semester.
Information will be available during the registration period, through the Honors Track or the Undergraduate Office.
Schedule of Sections
01:640:492 Schedule of Sections
Previous semesters:
- Spring 2017 Prof. Kontorovich, Number theory, group theory and Ramanujan graphs
- Spring 2016 Prof. Kiessling, Less is more -- the beauty of minimal design
- Spring 2015. Prof. Kahn Surprising mathematical applications of linear algebra.
- Spring 2014 Prof. Beheshti, Mathematical General Relativity.
- Spring 2013
- Spring 2012
- Spring 2011 Profs. Goodman and Wilson The Geometry of finite reflection groups Finite Reflection Groups
- Spring 2010, Prof. Borisov
Representation Theory - Spring 2009, Prof. Hoelscher
Matrix Groups: where Geometry meets Algebra - Spring 2008, Prof. Carlen
Inequalities - Spring 2007, Prof. Woodward
Elementary Number Theory, Group Theory, and Ramanujan Graphs - Spring 2006, Prof. Beck
Discrepancy Theory: Uniformity versus Irregularity - Spring 2005, Profs. Tunnell and Woodward
Modern Number Theory - Spring 2004, Profs. Goodman and Sahi
Fourier Analysis on Finite Groups