Extended Graduate Orientation

Summer 2011


coordinator phone # office e-mail
Renato Feres 5-6752 Cupples I, 17 feres@math.wustl.edu


Objective: The extended graduate orientation program is an optional, but strongly recommended, activity for the new graduate students. The purpose is twofold: to introduce incoming students to the style and pace of our graduate courses, so as to have everybody up to speed when Fall classes begin; and help foster from the very beginning a cohesive and supportive social environment of graduate students, faculty, and staff, in which we can all work most effectively.

Course: The core of the orientation program is a minicourse and group work activities about some mathematics subject. This is not meant to be a remedial course, and does not necessarily cover topics that will be seen again in the qualifying courses. For this year, we are going to explore topics in the general theory of dynamical systems. (More on this below.)

Dates, times, and locations: Most activities will take place in Cupples I, room 6. Lunch at room 200. Bring your lunch! The place has a refrigerator, microwave oven and other amenities for general use. Mary Ann will provide some cool beverage, chips and cookies.

The minicourse will run from August 8 till August 19, with classes on Mondays (8/8, 8/15), Wednesdays (8/10, 8/17), and Fridays (8/12, 8/19). There will be a morning (10:00AM - 12:00PM) and an afternoon session (2:00PM - 4:00PM). Each session consists of one hour of lecture and one hour of group work and discussion. Tuesdays and Thursdays will be devoted to homework, with the students responsible for organizing their own time. Not all of the time will be dedicated to math. We may use the time to discuss other issues of interest concerning courses, exams, or exchange information that may help you get settled.

On Friday the 19th we will have lunch at Blueberry Hills, together with the staff and some of the faculty.

Text: I've chosen the text: "A First Course in Dynamics," by B. Hasselblatt and A. Katok. Copies will be provided to you at the beginning of classes or earlier after your arrival. The text contains a number of more or less self-contained topics that we can choose as we go. Copies are already available in my office. If you are in town, just come by and I will hand you one.

Tentative list of topics: Issues of a dynamical nature permeate all of mathematics, from harmonic analysis and probability theory, to differential geometry, number theory, and combinatorics. The subject is broadly concerned with the study of iterations of maps and flows, and asymptotic properties of "orbits" of such systems. We will focus initially on some of the more self-contained chapters of the textbook. Chapters 4, 5, 7 are well suited for our purposes, and more specialized topics from chapters 9 to 15 may also be chosen from according to the students' interests and the available time.