Classes for David Stewart

Schedule (Fall 2016)

(Schedule subject to change without notice.)

Important information for students

Because of FERPA (i.e., privacy) requirements, all courses are ICON courses.

Fall 2016

I am teaching:

Spring 2016

Fall 2015

Summer 2015

Spring 2015

Fall 2014

Spring 2014

Fall 2013

Spring 2013

Fall 2012

Spring 2012

Fall 2011


Spring 2011


Fall 2010

Spring 2009--Spring 2010


Fall 2008

This is the starting point for numerical analysis, which is about how we use computers to solve mathematical problems (which might come from engineering, physics, biology, economics etc., etc., etc.).  You will learn about roundoff error (because we can't represent the infinitely many digits of ``pi'', for example), and how to estimate the growth or decay of errors. We will see how to solve equations, how to approximate functions, compute integrals, and solve differential equations.  This course is an ICON course.

Spring 2008

This is a 1 s.h. seminar type course.  You will hear about many different areas of mathematics and the research work done by faculty members.  So be prepared to find out about algebra, number theory, topology, differential equations, geometry of curves and surfaces, knots, chaos, fractals, wavelets, quantum mechanics, and logic.  Sophomore level background assumed.
This course covers numerical methods for ordinary differential equations dx/dt = f(t,x), how to solve linear systems A x = b, solve least-squares problems, find eigenvalues and eigenvectors, and possibly other matrix computations.  It is a companion course to 22M:170/22C:170.  They can be taken in either order.

Fall 2007

Spring 2007


Fall 2006

This course is about mathematical models of things that have continuous variation in time and/or space, like fluid flow (air and water: rivers, weather, airplane flight), solid mechanics (stress and strain, why buildings stay up (or not)), electromagnetism (radio waves, static electricity), and biology (animal migrations and population dynamics).  We will talk about processes and concepts like diffusion, momentum, convection, and energy.  There will even be a field trip (or two)!
This course is one of two foundational courses in Numerical Analysis. This one covers similar material to 22M:072/22C:072 but in much greater depth. Topics covered include:  Floating point arithmetic: round-off error, error analysis, catastrophic cancelation; Solution of nonlinear equations: bisection, secant, Newton's methods, multivariate versions; Interpolation: polynomial interpolation, divided differences, error estimates, trigonometric interpolation, spline interpolation; Approximation theory: minimax and least-squares approximation, equioscillation theorem, orthogonal polynomials.

Spring 2006


This is the starting point for numerical analysis, which is about how we use computers to solve mathematical problems (which might come from engineering, physics, biology, economics etc., etc., etc.).  You will learn about roundoff error (because we can't represent the infinitely many digits of ``pi'', for example), and how to estimate the growth or decay of errors. We will see how to solve equations, how to approximate functions, compute integrals, and solve differential equations.

Fall 2005

Fundamental methods and concepts of the differential and integral calculus.  Limits, tangents and chords, derivatives.  Differentiation.  How to differentiate common functions, sums, products, ratios, etc. Techniques of integration.  Integration as ``anti-differentiation'', integration as ``the area under the curve'', how to compute integrals, the fundamental theorem of calculus, tips & tricks. Applications of the calculus.  How to compute velocities and accelerations, areas, volumes, averages.
This is the starting point for numerical analysis, which is about how we use computers to solve mathematical problems (which might come from engineering, physics, biology, economics etc., etc., etc.).  You will learn about roundoff error (because we can't represent the infinitely many digits of ``pi'', for example), and how to estimate the growth or decay of errors. We will see how to solve equations, how to approximate functions, compute integrals, and solve differential equations.

Spring 2005

Fall 2004

Fundamental methods and concepts of the differential and integral calculus.  Limits, tangents and chords, derivatives.  Differentiation.  How to differentiate common functions, sums, products, ratios, etc. Techniques of integration.  Integration as ``anti-differentiation'', integration as ``the area under the curve'', how to compute integrals, the fundamental theorem of calculus, tips & tricks. Applications of the calculus.  How to compute velocities and accelerations, areas, volumes, averages.

Spring 2003

Fall 2002

Spring 2002

No teaching.  I was away on sabbatical (Faculty Scholar award).

Fall 2001

Summer 2001

Spring 2001

Fall 2000

Spring 2000

  • 22C:174/22M:174 Techniques of Optimization

  • This course will cover a number of aspects of unconstrained and constrained optimization and the numerical methods needed to compute minima and maxima. First and second order necessary and sufficient conditions for a (local) minimum/maximum; techniques for unconstrained optimization: steepest descent, Newton's method, quasi-Newton methods, line-searching and trust-region methods for globalization; Kuhn-Tucker conditions and techniques for constrained optimization: quadratic programming, SQP methods; convex functions and convex programs.

    Fall 1999

  • 22M:036 Engineering calculus II (Sections 101 and 121)

  • Inverse functions, exponential and logarithmic functions, hyperbolic functions (sinh, cosh, tanh), l'Hôpital's rule, differential equations; Integration techniques: integration by parts, trig integrals and substitutions, partial fractions, numerical approximations, improper integrals; Applications of integrals to finding areas, volumes, arc lengths, moments and centers of gravity; Infinite sequences and series (sums): convergence tests, power series and Taylor series; Curves in the plane in Cartesian and polar coordinates; Vectors, lines and planes in space.

    Spring 1999

  • 22C:171/22M:171 Numerical Analysis II: Differential equations and matrix computations

  • Solution of ordinary differential equations by Euler's method, implicit Euler's method, mid-point rule, Runge-Kutta methods, multistep methods, error analysis; solution of linear equations: Gaussian Elimination (LU factorization), condition numbers, effect of roundoff errors; least squares problems: normal equations, Cholesky factorization, QR factorization; eigenvalue and eigenvector problems: power method, inverse power method, and introduction to the QR algorithm.

    Fall 1998

    Spring 1998

    Spring 1997

  • MATH2224 Multivariate Calculus (at Virginia Tech)

  • Introduction to multivariate calculus; partial derivatives; differentiability; Taylor's theorem to 2nd order; multiple integrals: areas, volumes, centers of mass, etc.; power series and radii of convergence.
     
  • MATH4446 Numerical Methods and Analysis (at Virginia Tech)

  • Polynomial interpolation; Chebyshev interpolation vs. uniformly spaced interpolation; Runge's phenomenon; approximation techniques; numerical integration: mid-point, trapezoidal, Simpson's rules and Gaussian quadrature; ordinary differential equations.

    Fall 1996

  • MATH2214 Ordinary Differential Equations (at Virginia Tech)

  • Introduction to ODE's; 1st order ODE's; separable equations; linear equations: integrating factors, particular integrals and variation of constants formula; 2nd order linear equations; pendulum equation; nth order linear ODE's; systems of linear ODE's.
     
  • MATH4445 Numerical Methods and Analysis: Matrix Computations (at Virginia Tech)

  • Floating point arithmetic; linear equations; Gaussian elimination; conditioning and error bounds; backward error bounds; least squares; Cholesky factorization; QR factorization; eigenvalues - theory (incl. perturbation theory); power method; Jacobi method; intro to QR algorithm.

    Spring 1996

    Fall 1995

    Other courses

    Courses taught by David Stewart include ``Unix tools'' for graduate students at Virginia Tech with Prof. C. Beattie (Mathematics) in 1997; ``Dynamical Systems: Theory and Computation'', at the Australian National University with Prof. R.L. Dewar (Plasma Research Lab, ANU) in 1993; ``Introduction to Scientific Computing'' (3 times), ``Linear Programming'', ``Mathematics on Microcomputers'' (twice), ``Numerical Linear Algebra'' (undergraduate), ``Numerical Linear Algebra'' (graduate), ``Numerical Optimization'' at the University of Queensland, Australia, during the period 1986-1991.

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