Presentation topics, Mathematical Computation, Math 9171

Each student will give one presentation during the course. I would like to have them spread through the second half of the course, so I encourage people choosing topics near the top of the list to speak earlier.

All students are expected to attend all presentations and to arrive on time.

Possible Topics: These are suggestions, but you can also propose other topics. Topics need to be discussed with me and approved. You should choose a topic that is not something you already know about. When you meet with me, I can give more information about the topics and can suggest further references. You should also do some research about the topics.

Some of these may be covered in class, as the final choice of course material is still being worked out.

Number theory and/or cryptography (in Sage or something else)
Integer factorization algorithms. (Maye)
Grobner bases (in Sage or something else). (Chris)
Combinatorics and/or graph theory (in Sage or something else)
Something about polytopes. (Ahmed)
Numerical integration and differential equations (in Sage or something else)
An introduction to another mathematical software package, such as Macauley, Singular, Maxima, etc.
Machine learning. (George)
Haskell, functional programming, lazy evaluation.
Prolog, a language for encoding problems using logic. (Alex)
Topological data analysis (studying large data sets using algebraic topology). (Jianing)
Kenzo, a powerful tool for doing computations in algebraic topology
Quantum computing. (Tim?)

Duration: 45-55 minutes. The presentations are not long, so you will need to carefully select the appropriate amount of material to present. You should focus on the key ideas, with illustrative examples, motivation, necessary background, and history (e.g. attributions and years). The presentations can involve the blackboard, slides, live computer demo, or some combination.

Grading: The presentations will be worth 40% of the overall mark in the course. They will be graded on:

Organization: Well-organized; appropriate choice of topics and amount of material.
Knowledge of material. Be prepared to answer questions.
Clarity and style of presentation: speaking clearly, looking at audience, giving clear explanations, appropriate use of blackboard/slides/technology, etc.
Duration: if you end within the time span given, you get full marks for this category; otherwise, you lose marks. You might want to build some flexibility into the end of your presentation so you can adjust on the fly. And take into account that there may be questions during your talk.

Note that knowledge of material is just a small part of the grade. The presentation itself is much more important. Because of this, you should practice the talk at least once or twice beforehand, with someone listening, and you should time how long it takes. This is extremely important. You should also address your presentation to your fellow students, not to me; students in the audience are strongly encouraged to ask questions during and after the talk.

Course home page.