Dennis DeTurck DUE 9552464 University of Pennsylvania FY1995 $ 598,206 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6395 FY1996 $ 599,181 FY1997 $ 499,653 FY1998 $ 499,653 Mathematical Sciences Title: Middle Atlantic Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications Throughout the Curriculum This project is designed to promote a climate in which faculty from all disciplines view themselves as being jointly responsible for the scientific, mathematical, and technical education of undergraduates, rather than clients and servers. To help accomplish this, a consortium comprised of the University of Pennsylvania, Villanova University, Polytechnic University, Community College of Philadelphia, two Philadelphia public schools, and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) is planning to undertake this major initiative to integrate research and real-world applications from various disciplines into the mathematics curriculum, and to achieve more effective integration of advanced mathematics and computing into the curricula of disciplines that use mathematics. To begin a process to achieve this overall goal, this project consists of four parts: I. Creation of application modules for mathematics courses and mathematics modules for other-discipline courses. II. Development of basic and advanced interdisciplinary courses that integrate mathematics with specific application areas. III. Development of applications and laboratory-oriented courses for mathematics majors. IV. Development of materials for students in courses such as business, economics, psychology, and liberal arts and humanities courses that focus on mathematical literacy issues. Topics are chosen from a broad range of discipline areas, including biological and social sciences, as well as engineering, business, and physics modules. These modules involve many different important mathematical topics and techniques. The two different types of modules which are planned allow for multiple levels of student backgrounds. They impact multiple points of the curriculum ranging from courses for majors in fields which have traditionally used little or no mathematics to those for lower division students in mathematics and mathematically oriented disciplines to those for upper division mathematics majors. Several interdisciplinary courses are being created, including one incorporating mathematics, physics, and chemistry as well as one in geographiometry. A team of faculty are also developing a two-semester course for mathematics majors that surveys industrial uses of mathematics via applications. SIAM is proving expertise both in the development of the interdisciplinary modules and courses and in broad dissemination of materials through conferences, workshops, and products. Distribution of materials is through World Wide Web sites at the University of Pennsylvania and SIAM as well as by commercial publication.
