Shigeyuki Morita, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, Koji Shiga, Yokohama, Japan, Toshikazu Sunada, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan, and Kenji Ueno, Kyoto University, Japan

A Mathematical Gift I II, III:
The interplay between topology, functions, geometry, and algebra

Expected publication date is July 17, 2005
Description

This three-volume set addresses the interplay between topology, functions, geometry, and algebra. Bringing the beauty and fun of mathematics to the classroom, the authors offer serious mathematics in a lively, reader-friendly style. Included are exercises and many figures illustrating the main concepts. It is suitable for advanced high-school students, graduate students, and researchers.

Contents
Part I
Invitation to topology (Viewing figures globally)
Introduction
The Euler characteristic
Vortices created by winds and the Euler characteristic
Curvature of a surface and the Euler characteristic
The story of dimension
Introduction
Learning to appreciate dimension
What is dimension?
Three-dimensional figures
Physics and dimension
Part II
The legacy of trigonometric functions
Introduction
Trigonometric functions and infinite series
Elliptic functions
Intersection of geometry and algebra
Introduction
The Poncelet closure theorem
The Poncelet theorem for circles
The Poncelet theorem in the world of complex numbers
Proof of the Poncelet theorem using plane geometry
Conclusion
Part III

The story of the birth of manifolds
The prelude to the birth of manifolds
The birth of manifolds
The story of area and volume from everyday notions to mathematical concepts
Transition from the notion of "size" to the concept of "area"
Scissors-congruent polygons
Scissors-congruent polyhedra

Details:

Series: Mathematical World,
Publication Year: 2005
ISBN: 0-8218-3859-8
Paging: 392 pp.
Binding: Softcover

Patricia Clark Kenschaft, Montclair State University, Upper Montclair, NJ

Change is Possible: Stories of Women and Minorities in Mathematics

Expected publication date is August 21, 2005

"The role of minority and women mathematicians in developing our American mathematical community is an important but previously under-told story. Pat Kenschaft, in her highly readable and entertaining style, fills this knowledge gap. This valuable book should be in your personal library!"

-- Donald G. Saari, University of California, Irvine

"Kenschaft reveals the passions that motivated past and present mathematicians and the obstacles they overcame to achieve their dreams. Through research and in-depth personal interviews, she has explored the sensitive issues of racism and sexism, rejoicing in positive changes and alerting us to issues that still need our attention."

-- Claudia Zaslavsky, the author of "Africa Counts" and other books on equity issues in mathematics education

Description
Based on dozens of interviews and extensive historical research, and spiced with interesting photographs, this entertaining book relates stories about mathematicians who have defied stereotypes.

There are five chapters about women that provide insight into the nineteenth and the mid-twentieth century, the early 1970s, the early 1990s, and 2004. Activists in many fields will take heart at the progress made during that time. The author documents the rudimentary struggles to become professionals, being married without entirely giving up a career, organizing to eliminate flagrant discrimination, improving the daily treatment of women in the professional community, and the widespread efforts toward true equality.

The stories of African Americans in mathematics include the efforts of Benjamin Banneker, an eighteenth century American who had three grandparents born in Africa. He helped design Washington, DC, and made the computations for almanacs that succeeded Benjamin Franklin's. There are stories about African American mathematicians who were students and faculty in late nineteenth century colleges and accounts of several efforts to integrate the mathematical community in the mid-twentieth century. These stories indicate that though some efforts were more successful than others, all of them were difficult.

The book concludes with a happier chapter about five black mathematicians in the early twenty-first century. The book also includes five interviews with leading Latin American mathematicians, along with the results of a survey of Latino research mathematicians in the Southwest.

The author is a skilled story-teller with good stories to tell. This book is a page-turner that all mathematicians--as well as others concerned with equality--should read. It is a work of great interest and an enjoyable read.

Contents

Introduction
With the help of good white men
Women and mathematics in the nineteenth century
The Twentieth century: Mathematics and marriage
African American mathematicians from the eighteenth through the twentieth century
Latino mathematicians
Reawakening: The Association for Women in Mathematics
Skits tell what's happening around 1990
Women in mathematics now (2004)
Minorities in mathematics now (2004)
Conclusions
Appendix (to Chapter 5): What were the careers of 75 African American mathematicians of New Jersey in mid-1985?

Details:

Publication Year: 2005
ISBN: 0-8218-3748-6
Paging: approximately 212 pp.
Binding: Softcover

Edited by: David Evans and Jeffrey J. Holt, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, Chris Jones, St. Mary's College of California, Moraga, CA, and Karen Klintworth, Brian Parshall, Olivier Pfister, and Harold N. Ward, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA

Coding Theory and Quantum Computing

Expected publication date is August 31, 2005

Description

A conference, Coding Theory and Quantum Computing, was held in Charlottesville, VA, to provide an opportunity for computer scientists, mathematicians, and physicists to interact about subjects of common interest. This proceedings volume grew out of that meeting.

It is divided into two parts: "Coding Theory" and "Quantum Computing". In the first part, Harold Ward gives an introduction to coding theory. Other papers survey recent important work, such as coding theory applications of Grobner bases, methods of computing parameters of codes corresponding to algebraic curves, and problems in the theory of designs. The second part of the book covers a wide variety of directions in quantum information with an emphasis on understanding entanglement.

The material presented is suitable for graduate students and researchers interested in coding theory and in quantum computing.

Contents

Coding theory
J. B. Farr and S. Gao -- Grobner bases, Pade approximation, and decoding of linear codes
G. L. Matthews -- Some computational tools for estimating the parameters of algebraic geometry codes
H. N. Ward -- An introduction to algebraic coding theory
Q. Xiang -- Recent results on $p$-ranks and Smith normal forms of some $2-(v,k,\lambda)$ designs
Quantum computing
E. Feldman and M. Hillery -- Quantum walks on graphs and quantum scattering theory
S. J. Lomonaco, Jr. and L. H. Kauffman -- A continuous variable Shor algorithm
S. J. van Enk -- Entangled states of light
L. Viola, H. Barnum, E. Knill, G. Ortiz, and R. Somma -- Entanglement beyond subsystems
A. Yimsiriwattana and S. J. Lomonaco, Jr. -- Generalized GHZ states and distributed quantum computing

Series: Contemporary Mathematics, Volume: 381
Publication Year: 2005
ISBN: 0-8218-3600-5
Paging: 147 pp.
Binding: Softcover

Andrew J. Majda and Rafail V. Abramov, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, NY, and Marcus J. Grote, University of Basel, Switzerland

Information Theory and Stochastics for Multiscale Nonlinear Systems

Expected publication date is September 9, 2005

Description

This book introduces mathematicians to the fascinating mathematical interplay between ideas from stochastics and information theory and practical issues in studying complex multiscale nonlinear systems. It emphasizes the serendipity between modern applied mathematics and applications where rigorous analysis, the development of qualitative and/or asymptotic models, and numerical modeling all interact to explain complex phenomena.

After a brief introduction to the emerging issues in multiscale modeling, the book has three main chapters. The first chapter is an introduction to information theory with novel applications to statistical mechanics, predictability, and Jupiter's Red Spot for geophysical flows. The second chapter discusses new mathematical issues regarding fluctuation-dissipation theorems for complex nonlinear systems including information flow, various approximations, and illustrates applications to various mathematical models. The third chapter discusses stochastic modeling of complex nonlinear systems. After a general discussion, a new elementary model, motivated by issues in climate dynamics, is utilized to develop a self-contained example of stochastic mode reduction.

Based on A. Majda's Aisenstadt lectures at the University of Montreal, the book is appropriate for both pure and applied mathematics graduate students, postdocs and faculty, as well as interested researchers in other scientific disciplines. No background in geophysical flows is required.

About the authors: Andrew Majda is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and has received numerous honors and awards, including the National Academy of Science Prize in Applied Mathematics, the John von Neumann Prize of the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics, the Gibbs Prize of the American Mathematical Society, and the Medal of the College de France. In the past several years at the Courant Institute, Majda and a multi-disciplinary faculty have created the Center for Atmosphere Ocean Science to promote cross-disciplinary research with modern applied mathematics in climate modeling and prediction. R.V. Abramov is a young researcher; he received his PhD in 2002. M. J. Grote received his Ph.D. under Joseph B. Keller at Stanford University in 1995.

Contents

Overview on multiscale modeling in complex nonlinear systems
Information theory, predictability, Jupiter's great red spot, and equilibrium statistical mechanics
The fluctuation-dissipation theorem for complex nonlinear systems
Mathematical strategies for stochastic mode reduction in climate

Details:

Series: CRM Monograph Series, Volume: 25
Publication Year: 2005
ISBN: 0-8218-3843-1
Paging: approximately 144 pp.
Binding: Hardcover

Edited by: Ravi Janardan, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, Michiel Smid, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada, and Debasish Dutta, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

Geometric and Algorithmic Aspects of Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing

Expected publication date is September 8, 2005

Description

Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) is concerned with all aspects of the process of designing, prototyping, manufacturing, inspecting, and maintaining complex geometric objects under computer control. The DIMACS Center (Piscataway, NJ) sponsored a workshop to further promote the interaction between these two fields. Attendees from academia, research laboratories, and industry took part in the invited talks, contributed presentations, and informal discussions. This volume is an outgrowth of that meeting.

Topics covered in this volume include geometric modeling, computational topology, computational metrology, geometric constraint solving, part immobilization, geometric aspects of machining, layered manufacturing, and algebraic methods.

The book is suitable for graduate students and researchers interested in geometric and algorithmic aspects of computer-aided design and manufacturing.


Contents

I. Boier-Martin, D. Zorin, and F. Bernardini -- A survey of subdivision-based tools for surface modeling
T. K. Dey -- Sample based geometric modeling
D. Blackmore, Y. Mileyko, M. C. Leu, W. C. Regli, and W. Sun -- Computational topology and swept volumes
V. Srinivasan -- Elements of computational metrology
M. Sitharam -- Combinatorial approaches to geometric constraint solving: Problems, progress and directions
A. F. van der Stappen -- Immobilization: Analysis, existence, and output-sensitive synthesis
R. Janardan and M. Smid -- Geometric algorithms for layered manufacturing
P. Singh and D. Dutta -- A process planning framework for multi-direction layered deposition
T. Kim and S. E. Sarma -- Machinability: Geometric reasoning for cutting
D. Misra, V. Sundararajan, and P. K. Wright -- Zig-zag tool path generation for sculptured surface finishing
I. Z. Emiris and I. S. Kotsireas -- Implicitization exploiting sparseness
J. Keyser, K. Ouchi, and J. M. Rojas -- The exact rational univariate representation for detecting degeneracies
W. R. Franklin -- Mass properties of the union of millions of identical cubes

Details:


Series: DIMACS: Series in Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science, Volume: 67
Publication Year: 2005
ISBN: 0-8218-3628-5
Paging: approximately 352 pp.