Instructional Laboratory for Teaching Experimental Mathematics

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This project will support the purchase of computing equipment which will be used to enhance a course in applied mathematics which emphasizes software for mathematical experiments. It is being funded under the Instrumentation and Laboratory Improvement (ILI) Program, which has the goal of improving the quality of the undergraduate curriculum by supporting projects to develop new or improved instrument-based undergraduate laboratory and/or field courses in science, mathematics, or engineering. In particular, the purposes of the course which will be supported are (1) to encourage an experimental attitude towards mathematics in the students, by using the computer as a laboratory for strengthening intuitive insight, suggesting conjectures, and illuminating theory, (2) to deepen the understanding of theoretical concepts and methods by motivating students by what they learn experimentally, and (3) to make students appreciate the relation between mathematical analysis and the algorithmic/computational activities made possible by current advances in computer technology.