Office: ST1, room 261

Phone: 703 993 1478 (voice); 703 993 1491 (fax)

email: dwalnut@gmu.edu

Course web page:  http://math.gmu.edu/~dwalnut/teach/Math795/Fall06/795f06.html

Office hours: TR 11:00am-12:00pm and by appointment.

General Comments:

The goal of this course is to introduce the student to the way in which advanced, research-level mathematical concepts are typically presented at conferences, in seminars, and in colloquia. It is also designed to give the student practical experience in organizing and delivering such presentations.

The course web page contains announcements and useful information for students in this course. Any handouts, this syllabus, and the schedule of lectures will be posted on the course web page.

Requirements:

(1) Lecture. Each student enrolled in the course is required to give at least one 50-minute lecture during the semester. The topic of the lecture is to be chosen by the student in consultation with a faculty mentor of the student's choosing. The lecture topic should be appropriate to the level and experience of the student but should not simply be a reiteration of material from courses that the student has taken or is taking.  After the lecture the student is to meet with the faculty mentor to discuss ways (if any) that the lecture might have been improved.

(2) Attendance. Students are expected to attend the Graduate Seminar each week. In addition, each student must attend at least five colloquia or seminars sponsored by the Mathematics Department or by another department if the talk has significant mathematical content.  Sign-in sheets will be provided at the Mathematics Department Colloquium or at a Mathematics Department sponsored seminar for this purpose.  It is possible that on a given week a Mathematics Department colloquium or seminar may coincide with the meeting of the Graduate Seminar for that week.  This will of course be announced in advance.