Spring 2023

Fractal Geometry

Listed in: Mathematics and Statistics, as MATH-225

Moodle site: Course

Faculty

Amanda L. Folsom (Section 01)

Description

This course is a mathematical treatment of fractal geometry, a field of mathematics partly developed by Benoit Mandelbrot (1924–2010) that continues to be actively researched in the present day. Fractal geometry is a mathematical examination of the concepts of self-similarity, fractals, and chaos, and their applications to the modeling of natural phenomena. In particular, we will develop the iterated function system (IFS) method for describing fractals, examine Julia sets, Mandelbrot sets, and study the concept of fractal dimension, among other things. Through the teaching of these concepts, the course will also lend itself to familiarizing students with some of the formalisms and rigor of mathematical proofs.

Requisite: MATH 211 or consent of the instructor. Limited to 35 students.  Professor Folsom.

How to handle overenrollment: Preference is given to math majors.

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Problem sets, In-class quizzes or exams, Take-home exams, Visual analysis, Use of computational software.

Offerings

2022-23: Offered in Spring 2023