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Mathematics
Mathematics is the language and main instrument of science and technology. It is concerned with a wide range of diverse areas, from developing mathematical techniques to model real world applications, to designing efficient methods for calculating solutions of those problems, to creating new branches of mathematics and theories for as yet unsolved problems. Some students find mathematics stimulating because of its many and varied applications, while others are fascinated and attracted by the beauty of its intrinsic order, structure and form.
Because of its broad scope, degrees in mathematics can prepare students for many different careers. The Department of Mathematics and Statistics offers a wide variety of such degrees and emphases to provide students with several blends and specialties according to their interests and goals.
Program Overview
At SDSU,
prospective mathematics majors have their choice of
three programs: the Bachelor of Arts degree program
in liberal arts and sciences, the Bachelor of Arts
degree program in liberal arts and sciences in
preparation for the single subject teaching
credential, or the Bachelor of Science degree in
applied arts and sciences.
The Bachelor of Science degree allows students with a strong interest in the mathematical aspects of a particular science to include courses in that science toward their major. Students choose from four areas of emphasis: applied mathematics, computational science, mathematical finance, or science. Students take upper-division courses focusing on their selected emphasis, although they may choose a mix of courses from all areas. A mathematics minor is also available. The course work provides a good background for employment or graduate work in applied mathematics or in that science.
The Bachelor of Arts in mathematics prepares the student for graduate school in mathematics, for a career in secondary teaching, or for a variety of other jobs. There is a foreign language competency requirement. Students interested in secondary teaching are required to take certain core courses, an upper division geometry course and two electives. The Bachelor of Arts degree in preparation for a teaching credential includes mainstream courses in mathematics, as well as specialized courses for prospective secondary teachers.
Special Features
- The Department participates in joint Ph.D. programs in Mathematics Education with University of California-San Diego and Computational Sciences and Statistics with Claremont Graduate University.
- The Department offers 5 graduate programs in mathematics and applications: Master of Arts in Mathematics, Master of Science in Applied Mathematics, Master of Communication Mathematics, Master of Computational Science, and Master of Science in Dynamical Systems.
- The Department's Mathematics Education program is among the very best in the nation.
- The Mathematics Club has been created by the Department of Mathematics and Statistics to enhance the interaction between students and faculty and develop closer ties to local industry.
- Currently 20 of our 28 professors in the department are supported by external research grants, including 9 grants from National Science Foundation and 2 grants from National Institute of Health. In 2002, National Science Foundation ranked SDSU Department of Mathematics and Statistics 40th in the nation in R&D spending.
Faculty Highlights
The international nature of the mathematical sciences is reflected in the fact that the department has faculty from at least 12 different nations. Recently hired faculty members include the following:
Samuel Shen, Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1987) Dr. Shen is the new Chairman of Department of Mathematics and Statistics. He is an applied mathematician specializing in statistical climatology and nonlinear waves. His areas of research interest include optimal analysis of climate data for global warming assessment and detection, agroclimatic database and information service, signal analysis for nonlinear and non-stationary processes, and forced water waves. He is presently researching on the uncertainties of the global climate change in the last 150 years in both surface air temperature and precipitation, optimal blending of the data from satellite remote sensing and ground station observations, and North America drought monitoring.
Barbara Bailey, Ph.D. (North Carolina State University, 1994) Dr. Bailey is an applied statistician with applications in the atmospheric, environmental, and ecological sciences. Her Ph.D. is in Biomathematics, a graduate program inside the Department of Statistics where her research focused on nonlinear time series and estimation of dynamical system quantities from data. She was postdoctoral research fellow at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. At NCAR, she was part of the Geophysical Statistics Project where her research emphasis was on modeling the spatial and temporal distribution of cloud cover and biogeochemical processes. She has continued and is currently researching the temporal and spatial modeling of environmental processes and the diagnostic and visualization of nonlinear statistical models.
Jianwei Chen, PhD (CUHK, 1999). Dr. Chen obtained his Ph.D. in statistics from Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong). He has some postdoctoral years in Department of Biostatistics at UNC, Harvard and University of Rochester before he joined SDSU. His areas of research interest include statistical methods in medical/public health research, viral dynamic modeling and simulation, statistical inference for nonlinear differential equations with applications to HIV infectious and bio-defined immune modeling, nonparametric and semi-parametric regressions with missing data and measurement errors, mixed effect models in functional data and longitudinal data analysis, outcome dependent sampling designs, quality control and sampling plans, Bayesian methods, MCMC and computational statistics, and hedging models. He has published over twenty research papers in the major journals in the field of the statistics and operations research.
Kristin Duncan, Ph.D. (The Ohio State University, 2004) Dr. Duncan is an applied statistician with research interests in Bayesian modeling, educational assessment, and survey sampling. She is currently working on assessing the fit of item response models such as those used in standardized testing and also on using nonparametric Bayesian modeling for item response.
Carmelo Interlando, Ph.D. (Notre Dame University, 2005). Dr. Interlando's research is focused on two areas of applied mathematics, error-correcting codes and cryptography. Error-correcting codes are used in electronic equipment, such as cell phones and compact disks, to correct errors that occur in transmission of data. Cryptographic codes are used in communications to ensure that eavesdroppers cannot read information transmitted between two parties. Dr. Interlando has worked on error-correction algorithms and other computational problems in number theory. His recent work concerns a fundamental problem in cryptography, establishing the gate complexity for computing a function. In particular, cryptographers would like to find a "one-way function," a function whose gate complexity is less than the gate complexity of its inverse. Construction of such functions would ensure the reliability of cryptographic systems that most of us unknowingly use everyday.
Ricardo Nemirovsky, D.Ed. (Harvard University, 1992) Dr. Nemirovsky's research program focuses on an investigation of the embodied nature of cognition, with an emphasis on the roles of body motion and kinesthesia in mathematics learning. Proponents of embodied cognition hold that cognitive processes are deeply rooted in the body's interactions with the world and with others and that perceptuo-motor activity is embedded in the use and production of tools and symbols. Dr. Nemirovsky's pioneering research on the embodied nature of cognition and on the creative use of mathematical artifacts has been influential and has resulted in a number of well-cited papers. Over the past ten years, he has obtained over $9 million in external funding. At the national level and international levels, Dr. Nemirovsky has distinguished himself as a leader who works with a broad variety of researchers ranging from physicists to semioticians and most recently cognitive neuroscientists. Additionally, he has designed numerous mechanical devices and software to enrich the learning of mathematical devices and software to enrich the learning of mathematics, including several math-oriented exhibits for science and technology museums.
Career Opportunities
Some areas of employment for mathematics graduates include accounting, advertising, agriculture-and-conservation, banking, communications, economics, education, finance, government, insurance, intelligent systems, manufacturing, marketing, mathematical programming, medical services, merchandising, operations research, transportation, and utilities.
To further explore career options in this field, visit Career Services for more information.
General Catalog
You can view more complete information regarding the Mathematics program in the General Catalog. All students are responsible for reading and knowing the information pertinent to their areas of study available in the General Catalog. It contains requirements for all academic majors, course descriptions, policies, and regulations governing progress at the University. Catalogs are distributed at all Academic Orientation programs. To order a catalog, call (619) 594-7535.
Contact Information
Mailing address:
Department of Mathematics and
Statistics
College of Sciences
San Diego State University
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182-7720
Email: Terry
Farquhar, Administrative Support Coordinator
Telephone: (619) 594-2667
Fax: (619) 594-6746
Office location: GMCS Building, Room 413
Office hours: Monday-Friday, 8:15 A.M. - 11:30
A.M.; 12:30 P.M. - 4:15 P.M.