William Perales Appointed Director of Saint Ambrose Center
Having led the K-12 Curriculum Project of the Saint Ambrose Center since 2021, William Perales replaces Andrew Ellison as director this month.
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Philosophy: Much of the history and philosophy of Applied Mathematics can be summarized by a
quote from the preface to The Functions of Mathematical Physics by Harry Hochstadt, "The topics covered... were first studied by the outstanding
mathematicians of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Among the many who devoted
themselves to these studies are Gauss, Euler Fourier, Legendre, and Bessel. These
men did not recognize the modern and somewhat artificial distinction between pure
and applied mathematics. Much of their work was stimulated by physical problems that
led to the studies of differential equations. Frequently they developed generalizations
to obtain results having no immediate or obvious applications. As a consequence mathematics
was often ahead of its time having tools ready before physicists and engineers felt
the need for them." The concentration reflects this historic interplay by presenting
topics of obvious interest to applied scientists as well as being of purely mathematical
interest.
The concept of transformations plays a central role in applied mathematics. Partial
differential equations are transformed into ordinary differential equations. Ordinary
differential equations are transformed in algebraic equations. Algebraic systems are
transformed into simple algebraic systems. Thus, one can understand why linear algebra
plays a fundamental role in the concentration.
Content: The concentration consists of five courses. The core of the Applied Mathematics Concentration is made up of the three courses: Calculus III (Math 2412), Linear Algebra (Math 3310), and Applied Mathematics
(Math 4315). Fundamental to modern applied mathematics is the study of structures
known as vector spaces and the linear operations on those spaces. The student is introduced
to these concepts in linear algebra. These ideas are expanded in Calculus III where
the linearity and multidimensionality introduced in linear algebra are combined with
the infinite processes of calculus. These concepts continue to be drawn together in
Applied Mathematics, where the analogy is completed between discrete problems, continuous
one-dimensional problems, and continuous multi-dimensional problems.
The fourth course is an applied mathematics elective such as Differential Equations (Math 3324),
Probability (Math 3326), Statistics (Math 3327), Numerical Analysis(Math 3338), or
a Computer Science course approved by director.
The fifth course is an elective from a field other than mathematics. This allows the
student to tailor the concentration to his or her own interests and reinforces the
concentration's interdisciplinary nature.
Having led the K-12 Curriculum Project of the Saint Ambrose Center since 2021, William Perales replaces Andrew Ellison as director this month.
+ Read MoreAndrew Ellison, current director of the St. Ambrose Center for Catholic Liberal Education and Culture, will move to a new role on March 1.
+ Read MoreStudents of local Catholic schools are eligible for automatic admission through the Crusader Promise.
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