Math 4700 – Special Topics in Mathematics: Parking Functions

Lecture Time: 10:00am – 11:50am (TR)   Location: Zoom

Textbook: Not required. I will teach from my self-compiled notes.

Instructor: Mei Yin   mei.yin@du.edu
   Office and Office Hours: Zoom, 3:00pm – 4:30pm (TR), or by appointment

Learning Objectives: By the end of the course, a student should be able to:
1. Develop an understanding for parking models and their fundamental properties.
2. Build connections between parking functions and other probability and combinatorial objects.
3. Gain an insight into research at the interface of math and computer science.

Tentative Calendar:
The Week Of
 Material Covered
March 31 – April 2 Introduction
April 5 – April 9 Parking Functions and Labeled Forests
April 12 – April 16 Graph Searching Algorithms
April 19 – April 23
 Hashing and Linear Probing
April 26 – April 30
 Interval Parking Functions
May 3 – May 7
 Parking Functions Associated with Graphs
May 10 – May 14
 Random Parking Functions
May 17 – May 21
 Abelian Sandpiles
May 24 – May 28 Combinatorial Generating Functions
June 1 – June 4
 Project Presentation
June 7 – June 8 Project Presentation

Grading: Your final grade for the course will be determined based on a numerical weighted average calculated as follows: Homework 60% Term Project 40%.

Homework: There will be four homework sets, due at the beginning of the class on Tuesdays April 20, May 4, May 18, and June 1.

Term Project: The term project can be targeted towards either the theoretical or the applied aspect of parking functions and is due on Tuesday, June 8.

Students with Disabilities: If you qualify for academic accommodations because of a disability or medical issue, please submit a faculty letter to me from Disability Services Program (DSP) in a timely manner so that your needs may be addressed. DSP determines accommodations based on documented disabilities/medical issues. DSP is located on the 4th floor of Ruffatto Hall, 1999 E Evans Ave, 303-871-2278. Information is also available online at http://www.du.edu/disability/dsp; see the Handbook for Students with Disabilities.

Honor Code: Follow the Honor Code in all activities related to this course. Incidents of academic misconduct will be reported to and investigated by the Office of Student Conduct.

Religious Accommodations: University policy grants students excused absences from class or other organized activities for observance of religious holy days, unless the accommodation would create an undue hardship. Faculty are asked to be responsive to requests when students contact them in advance to request such an excused absence. Students are responsible for completing assignments given during their absence, but should be given an opportunity to make up work missed because of religious observance. Once a student has registered for a class, the student is expected to examine the course syllabus for potential conflicts with holy days and to notify the instructor by the end of the first week of classes of any conflicts that may require an absence (including any required additional preparation/travel time). The student is also expected to remind the faculty member in advance of the missed class, and to make arrangements in advance (with the faculty member) to make up any missed work or in-class material within a reasonable amount of time.

Other: Check the DU academic calendar for important dates throughout the quarter: http://www.du.edu/registrar/calendar/index.html.

C'est la vie: I fully understand that unlike in 'ordinary' quarters, you may be dealing with a lot of issues that are unusual and unrelated to your coursework. In particular, you may have a lot on your mind besides this course. If you need extra help or support, please reach out to me! I will do whatever I can to accommodate you.