Seminar time: Mondays 4:30-5:30, S&T I, Room 242.

Description: This course is a 1-credit seminar course, required for math Ph.D. students. It is designed to prepare you for the presentation aspect of a career in mathematics. This is beneficial in the long term, since even in mathematics, good research is not appreciated unless it is well presented. The short term benefit is that it helps you to get comfortable presenting graduate level mathematics prior to the oral exam. The seminar consists of mathematical presentations by students and some faculty. Each student is required to give a presentation, in addition to attending the presentations of others.

Attendance: Attendance at the presentations of others is required. There will be an attendance sheet.

Research seminar requirement: As part of learning about mathematical presentations, you are required to attend five additional research seminars in math or a related field. The Math Colloquium is an excellent choice, as are the specialized math department seminars. Before the end of the semester, submit to me a list of the titles and dates of five seminars that you attended.

Presentation: During the semester, each student will give a mathematical presentation. The expectation for the presentation is comensurate with the students' point in the program. Thus more advanced students will be presenting their own research, whereas students who are not as far along will be presenting research papers or material from advanced graduate texts. In either case, the material should be at an appropriate level to be understood and appreciated by the audience. That is, it should be it should be graduate material which is new to the other students (not seen within any of the beginning graduate courses), but not presented at a level too advanced for the audience.

In order to prepare for this presentation, you are required to choose a faculty mentor, who will work very closely with you to help you prepare the presentation. You and your mentor will agree on a topic. You will meet with your mentor to discuss a talk outline. Your mentor will receive a copy of your talk in advance and make comments which need to be incorporated in time for the presentation. Your mentor will also attend the talk. A good mathematical talk, especially when you are first starting, takes time to prepare. Do not underestimate the need to start in advance. Here is a timeline showing what is required for the preparation of the presentation:

• Well in advance (at least three weeks): Choose your mentor. The mentor may help you choose the material for your presentation. Even if you choose the material yourself, the mentor must approve the material (at least two weeks in advance).
• At least one week in advance: You must meet with the mentor and give an outline of what you plan to cover.
• At least one week in advance: Email me an abstract for your talk.
• At least two days in advance: You are required to show your mentor a copy of your presentation materials. Remember that the goal is to improve your presentation skills. Thus you need to give your mentor time for comments which can be incorporated.
• At least one day in advance: You will receive comments from the mentor.
• To make sure you have the timing right, before your talk, practice it to yourself or a friend.

Grading: Your grade is based on the presentation, attendance, and completion of the the research seminar requirement.

Course Web Page: http://math.gmu.edu/~sander/courses/m795f07/

Fall Schedule and Abstracts
Spring Syllabus
Spring Schedule