Mathematics 903: Graduate Seminar

Concrete Mathematics
Spring, 2009
Rob Gross
MWF 2: Fulton 423

Office: Carney 371, 617-552-3758
Office Hours: M 12–1, W 3–5, F 3–4, and by appointment
E-mail: gross@bc.edu
Course home page: http://fmwww.bc.edu/gross/MT903

Text:

Concrete Mathematics: A Foundation for Computer Science, second edition, by Ronald L. Graham, Donald E. Knuth, and Oren Patashnik

This is a student-run seminar, meaning that you will do most (but not all) of the talking. That means that attendance and class participation are critical, and will determine 50% of your grade. Because we aren't all good at thinking on our feet, there will also be a mid-term and a final examination, comprising 20% and 30% of your grade respectively. Probably the mid-term will be February 28, right before spring vacation; please make your travel plans accordingly. The final examination is at the time set by the registrar: Monday, May 11, at 9:00 A.M.

We will work our way through the text in order, stopping to work on problems along the way. You should feel free to work on problems together. I will not assign homework problems to any individual member of the seminar, but instead will call on a student in class to start a problem, and call on others to help her out if necessary.