Task force on applied mathematics

Tomas Garza relates how the Research Center for Applied Mathematics Systems and Services in Mexico became the Research Institute for Applied Mathematics and Systems and what the type of work performed is

Applied Mathematics, the Hans van Duijn way

This is a former PhD student's take on his teacher's scientific philosophy. I describe a set of 'principles' that I believe are conducive to good applied mathematics, and that I have learnt myself from observing Hans van Duijn in action.Comment: 11 page

Self-Evaluation Applied Mathematics 2003-2008 University of Twente

This report contains the self-study for the research assessment of the Department of Applied Mathematics (AM) of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS) at the University of Twente (UT). The report provides the information for the Research Assessment Committee for Applied Mathematics, dealing with mathematical sciences at the three universities of technology in the Netherlands. It describes the state of affairs pertaining to the period 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2008

Connecting Mathematics and the Applied Science of Energy Conservation

To effectively teach science in the elementary classroom, pre-service K-8 teachers need a basic understanding of the underlying concepts of physics, which demand a strong foundation in mathematics. Unfortunately, the depth of mathematics understanding of prospective elementary teachers has been a growing and serious concern for several decades. To overcome this challenge, a two-pronged attack was used in this study. First. students in mathematics courses were coupled with physical science courses by linking registration to ensure co-requisites were taken. This alone improved passing rates. Secondly, an energy conservation project was introduced in both classes that intimately tied the theoretical mathematics base knowledge to problems in physical science, energy efficiency, and household economics. These connections made the mathematics highly relevant to the students and improved both their theoretical understanding and their grades. Together, the two approaches of tying mathematics to physical science and applying mathematical skills to solving energy efficiency problems have shown to be extremely effective at improving student performance. This five-year study not only exhibited record improvements in student performance, but also can be easily replicated at other institutions experiencing similar challenges in training pre-service elementary school teachers

Introduction to Gestural Similarity in Music. An Application of Category Theory to the Orchestra

Mathematics, and more generally computational sciences, intervene in several aspects of music. Mathematics describes the acoustics of the sounds giving formal tools to physics, and the matter of music itself in terms of compositional structures and strategies. Mathematics can also be applied to the entire making of music, from the score to the performance, connecting compositional structures to acoustical reality of sounds. Moreover, the precise concept of gesture has a decisive role in understanding musical performance. In this paper, we apply some concepts of category theory to compare gestures of orchestral musicians, and to investigate the relationship between orchestra and conductor, as well as between listeners and conductor/orchestra. To this aim, we will introduce the concept of gestural similarity. The mathematical tools used can be applied to gesture classification, and to interdisciplinary comparisons between music and visual arts.Comment: The final version of this paper has been published by the Journal of Mathematics and Musi