Math 435 Math in the City 

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

MWF 2:30–3:20pm Room TBD 

Spring Semester, 2021

COURSE SYLLABUS

Instructor: Animesh Biswas ([email protected])

Office Hours: MWF 10:15 am - 10:45 am, over Zoom. Link : https://unl.zoom.us/j/93069623768 [this link is valid until March 16]

Teaching Assistant: Sara Myers, ([email protected])

Office Hours: MW 1 pm - 2pm , over Zoom. Link https://unl.zoom.us/j/98115056065?pwd=MFREVi9tbFhweXY3U1dJcHhqcndEdz09

Course Documents: Most course documents will be kept on Canvas.

Prerequisite Policy: Two of MATH 221, MATH 221H, MATH 314, MATH 314H, RAIK 270H, STAT 380.

Course Description: This is a modeling course offered to math and non-math majors and it is run in collaboration with local government, businesses, research or administrative centers in town. This semester will focus on modeling COVID-19 using real data from local health officials. The mathematical content of the course is diverse. The difficulty of the topics will be perceived differently by students: each of you will discover that it depends a lot on your background, the way you think and communicate in mathematics. Do not hesitate to ask questions in or outside the class. This course is project-oriented thus it is imperative to keep up with the project on a regular basis. Expect to communicate and meet with your group regularly outside of class. At the end of this course a successful student will not only have performed very well on the tasks during the semester, but will be able to approach other real life problems that involve mathematics with more confidence. You are allowed to use any software/programming language while the only accepted editing software is LATEX. Either me or our TA will give lecture(s) on using LATEXand Matlab.

ACE Outcome 10: The outcome objectives will be demonstrated by a written report, an oral presentation, group meetings, and assignments or quizzes. The lectures and group meetings will provide the skills necessary for these assignments. Anonymous copies of your group written project and a sampling of journal entries will be kept as examples of the scholarly product that requires broad knowledge, appropriate technical proficiency, information collection, synthesis, interpretation, presentation, and reflection.

Contacting me: The best way to contact me is by email, [email protected]. Please put “[MATH 435]” at the beginning of the title and make sure to include your full name in your email. Using your official UNL email to contact me is strongly recommended. You are welcome to stop by during my office hours. If you want to meet at another time, please email me in advance, and we will try to schedule a time to meet over Zoom.

Attendance & Engagement: Daily attendance for class lectures (either remotely or in-person) is expected and is extremely important since the class involves intense group discussion and group collaboration. You are responsible to attend the class in-person (or remotely in case of emergency) following the announced timetables and you are responsible for all material and announcements in class regardless of whether or not you attended. Zoom link for the lecture is https://unl.zoom.us/j/94963313202 [this link is valid until March 16]. We will be abiding by all of the university’s polices, including the COVID-19 face covering policy mentioned in the syllabus. Students who are sick or who are engaging in self-quarantine in accordance with guidance from the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department or their health care professional should not physically attend in-person classes. They must notify the instructor of their absence and must still meet the stated engagement expectations of the course, and they must adhere to the usual codes of conduct and rules of academic integrity that remain in place.

Reading & Exercises: You are expected to read the assigned materials (or to watch the pre-recorded video in case of emergency) BEFORE coming to the class meeting in which the topic is scheduled. You are also expected to work through the indicated exercises after the corresponding material is presented in class, and BEFORE the next class meeting. All assignments are collected electronically. You are expected to upload a clear file (PDF, JPEG, or PNG) with organized and clean work. Usage of an app to scan your work is recommended, for example, Microsoft Office Lens or Evernote Scannable are free. A sloppy, convoluted work that is not readable for grading may (shall) be returned without grades and you need to arrange for a resubmission.

Homework: Assignments will be given during the semester. You may discuss the problems with me or your classmates, but you should write up all solutions individually.

Journals: are electronic files that you will continuously update throughout the semester. They will contain comments and reflections about the material you have encountered, questions you may have and ideas related to the project. A template will be provided for your convenience and you will upload your journals to Canvas periodically. The last journal will be an Exit Essay containing your comments and reflections about the whole class materials, the project and the group activities. This will be evaluated for class participation and project participation.

The project report: should be organized into several chapters/sections similar to an academic publication. The Introduction will contain a project description, a set-up of the problem and the significance of the work. In the main body (Methods and Results) you will include the bulk of your work: an outline of the mathematical methods used, the assumptions, the arguments, and the steps taken to solve the problem. The Conclusions chapter will contain the final results and their interpretation. Later in the semester details about what should be in the project will be given.

Final presentation: At the end of the semester, you will present your work on the project during the week of April 26- April 30 (tentatively). Later in the semester details about what should be in the presentation will be given. Note that this will be a very busy time. In particular expect to have to meet with your group and instructors to rehearse your presentation every day during that. Taking part in the group presentation is compulsory and you are expected to adjust your schedule accordingly. There is no written final exam for this course during the exam week.

Writing: Part of understanding advanced concepts and doing research is describing these concepts and that research in writing. Therefore, the quality of your written exposition will be graded.

Grading: Grades for the course will be computed as follows:

Homework:                      25%

Project report:                  25%

Project participation:         20%

Final presentation:            20%

Class Participation:            10%

The project report grade will be the same for all members of a group. The project participation grade may vary between members of a group and will be determined based on each student’s contribution to the report as reflected in the group members’ journals.

Grade Questions: Any questions regarding grading/scoring of homework, exams, or projects must be made within two class days from when they were handed back, or no change in grade will be made. Because of privacy rights, I cannot discuss grades over email or telephone. Please do not email or call me asking about your grade. I will not be able to give you any information. Of course, I am happy to discuss grades individually over a Zoom conference.

Tentative outline for the course (all dates are subject to change):

• During the first three weeks of the course, basic statistical knowledge and basic modelling will be taught in class, and an in-class activity will be conducted for you to design experiments, collect data, analyze data and make interpretations. At the same time, homework will be assigned to ask you to do a lot of reading about the background of the epidemiology models and the practical issues of COVID-19. You will be asked to write up summaries of your readings. After approximately three weeks you will then pick your research project and research groups.

• Over the next three weeks, the SIR model, one of the classic epidemiology models, will be taught in class. Exercise and demo Matlab code will be provided for you to have a deeper understanding of how to forecast COVID-19 using the SIR model. You will continue to read the relevant mathematics, and start working with the formulas and the data. Everybody in the class will use computer software depending on the nature of the projects. Possible software includes Excel and Matlab (free to UNL students).

• For the next seven weeks of the course, you will work on your projects. Reports will be due approximately according to this schedule:

– Preliminary report: March 26.

– First draft of the project: April 9. Detailed feedback will be given to you about this draft.

– Final draft of the project: April 30.

At any time during the process you can ask us to critique your work. You will write your reports in LATEX, and I recommend using Overleaf so that everybody in your group can work on the same file easily.

• On or near April 30 we will have a mini-conference where all groups can present their work, will be advertised in the Math Department, and will be open to anybody who is interested.

• At the end of the semester each of you will separately need to provide a short (one paragraph) description of what the responsibilities of everybody in your group have been. Then you will provide a longer (approximately one page) detailed description about what you did on the project.

Services for Students with Disabilities: The University strives to make all learning experiences as acces-sible as possible. If you anticipate or experience barriers based on your disability (including mental health, chronic or temporary medical conditions), please let me know immediately so that we can discuss options privately. To establish reasonable accommodations, I may request that you register with Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD). If you are eligible for services and register with their office, make arrangements with me as soon as possible to discuss your accommodations so they can be implemented in a timely manner. SSD contact information: 117 Louise Pound Hall; 402-472-3787.

Departmental Grading Appeals Policy: The Department of Mathematics does not tolerate discrimina-tion or harassment on the basis of race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation. If you believe you have been subject to such discrimination or harassment, in this or any other math course, please contact the department. If, for this or any other reason, you believe your grade was assigned incorrectly or capriciously, then appeals may be made to (in order) the instructor, the vice chair, the Department grading appeals committee, the College of Arts and Sciences grading appeals committee, and the University grading appeals committee.

Counseling and Psychological Services: UNL offers a variety of options to students to aid them in dealing with stress and adversity. Counseling and Psychological & Services (CAPS); is a multidis-ciplinary team of psychologists and counselors that works collaboratively with Nebraska students to help them explore their feelings and thoughts and learn helpful ways to improve their mental, psychological and emotional well-being when issues arise. CAPS can be reached by calling 402-472-7450. Big Red Resilience & Well-Being. (BRRWB) provides one-on-one well-being coaching to any student who wants to enhance their well-being. Trained well-being coaches help students create and be grateful for positive experiences, practice resilience and self-compassion, and find support as they need it. BRRWB can be reached by calling 402-472-8770.

Course Evaluations: The Department of Mathematics course evaluation form will be available during the last two weeks of class. Evaluations are anonymous and instructors do not see the responses until after final grades have been submitted. Evaluations are important – the department uses them to improve instruction. Please complete the evaluation and take the time to do so thoughtfully.

Statement of Academic Integrity: Academic honesty is essential to the existence and integrity of an aca-demic institution. The responsibility for maintaining that integrity is shared by all members of the academic community. To further serve this end, the University supports a Student Code of Conduct which addresses the issue of academic dishonesty.

Recording of Class-related Activity: Any work and/or communication that you are privy to as a memberof this course should be treated as the intellectual property of the speaker/creator, and is not to be shared outside the context of this course. Students may not make or distribute screen captures, audio/video recordings of, or livestream, any class-related activity, including lectures and presentations, without express prior written consent from me or an approved accommodation from Services for Students with Disabilities. If you have (or think you may have) a disability such that you need to record or tape class-related activities, you should contact Services for Students with Disabilities. If you have an accommodation to record class-related activities, those recordings may not be shared with any other student, whether in this course or not, or with any other person or on any other platform. Failure to follow this policy on recording or distributing class-related activities may subject you to discipline under the Student Code of Conduct.

Required Use of Face Coverings for On-Campus Shared Learning Environments∗ : As of July 17, 2020 and until further notice, all University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) faculty, staff, students, and visitors (including contractors, service providers, and others) are required to use a facial covering at all times when indoors except under specific conditions outlined in the COVID 19 face covering policy found at: https://covid19.unl.edu/face-covering-policy. This statement is meant to clarify classroom policies for face coverings:

To protect the health and well-being of the University and wider community, UNL has implemented a policy requiring all people, including students, faculty, and staff, to wear a face covering that covers the mouth and nose while on campus. The classroom is a community, and as a community, we seek to maintain the health and safety of all members by wearing face coverings when in the classroom. Failure to comply with this policy is interpreted as a disruption of the classroom and may be a violation of UNL’s Student Code of Conduct. Individuals who have health or medical reasons for not wearing face coverings should work with the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (for students) or the Office of Faculty/Staff Disability Services (for faculty and staff) to establish accommodations to address the health concern. Students who prefer not to wear a face covering should work with their advisor to arrange a fully online course schedule that does not require their presence on campus.

Students in the classroom:

1. If a student is not properly wearing a face covering, the instructor will remind the student of the policy and ask them to comply with it.

2. If the student will not comply with the face covering policy, the instructor will ask the student to leave the classroom, and the student may only return when they are properly wearing a face covering.

3. If the student refuses to properly wear a face covering or leave the classroom, the instructor will dismiss the class and will report the student to Student Conduct & Community Standards for misconduct, where the student will be subject to disciplinary action.

Instructors in the classroom:

1. If an instructor is not properly wearing a face covering, students will remind the instructor of the policy and ask them to comply with it.

2. If an instructor will not properly wear a face covering, students may leave the classroom and should report the misconduct to the department chair or via the TIPS system for disciplinary action through faculty governance processes.

∗Courses that have been granted an exception to the Face Covering Policy for pedagogical reasons are excluded. Exceptions to the Face Covering Policy are only granted after an approved health safety plan is developed.

Student Concerns and Feedback: Your experience with remote learning in this course is important to me. If you have questions, concerns, or positive feedback, please contact me at [Canvas inbox, email address, or phone number]. If I am unable to respond, or you feel I’ve not adequately addressed your concerns, you can contact Tom Marley, [email protected]. If your concern is still not resolved, please contact Associate Dean June Griffin, [email protected].