Update on Consultation Sessions

Becky Shipley's consultation session on Thursday 27 May has been changed to the following times: 10 am - 1pm.

Consultation Sessions

Week 2: Monday: 11am - 12 noon (DHSR1, Me, 'drop in' ... well, because of a scheduling mess-up on the part of MI, this ended up being the 2007 exam at the spur of the moment---in case you want to get notes from somebody)
Thursday: 11am - 1pm (DHSR2, Becky Shipley) (2008 exam paper)
Thursday: 2pm - 4pm (DHSR2, Becky Shipley) (2008 exam paper)

Week 3: Thursday: 3pm - 4pm (SGSR2, Cameron Hall, 'drop in')

Week 4: Thursday: 11am - 1 pm (DHSR2, Becky Shipley, 2006 exam)
Thursday: 3pm - 4pm (SGSR2, Cameron Hall, 'drop in')

Week 5: Monday: 10am - 12 noon (L2, Me) (2009 exam paper)
Thursday: 11am - 1 pm (DHSR2, Becky Shipley) ('drop in')
Thursday: 2pm - 4pm (DHSR2, Becky Shipley) ('drop in')


Update (5/2/10): I have noticed a couple of bugs in the MI's list of consultation sessions regarding what is being covered in which session. The correct information is here.

Minor Typo in Solution to Problem 7.6

Becky Shipley points out: "There is a minor typo in the solution to qu 6 from sheet 7- at the top of page 3 the initial condition should be y(0)=1 (not y(0)=0) to get C_2 and hence eqn (6)."

I don't have the latex file for that solution (just the .pdf), so I am announcing the correction here rather than updating the file.

Minor Correction to Lecture Notes

I made a slight correction to the printed lecture notes in the nonlinear oscillator discussion from today. As I mentioned today in lecture, what I wrote on the board is correct, but I had forgotten to change it in the lectures notes when I was making my compiled corrections in September.

Welcome to Perturbation Methods (Fall 2009)

The lectures will be held on Mondays and Thursdays from 12:00--1:00 pm in L2 in the MI.

There are 6 classes, which are configured as follows:

Wednesday: 11:00 am - 12:00 pm, LR1 in the MI, Tutor: Rebecca Shipley, TA: Thomas Woolley

Wednesday: 12:30 - 1:30 pm, LR1 in the MI, Tutor: Rebecca Shipley, TA: Thomas Woolley

Wednesday: 2:00 - 3:00 pm, SR2 in the MI (except for week 6, when it will be in DHSR1), Tutor: Cameron Hall, TA: Jean-Charles Seguis

Wednesday: 3:00 - 4:00 pm, SR2 in the MI (except for week 6, when it will be in DHSR1), Tutor: Cameron Hall, TA: Jean-Charles Seguis

Friday: 12:00 - 1:00 pm, DHSR3, Tutor: Phil Trinh, TA: Cara Morgan

Friday: 1:00 - 2:00 pm, DHSR3, Tutor: Phil Trinh, TA: Cara Morgan


The lecture notes and 7 problem sheets have all been posted. Problem sheet N will be due on Monday (1:00 pm) of Week N + 1 for the Wednesday classes and on Wednesday (10:00 am) of Week N + 1 for the Friday classes. Make sure to place your sheets in the proper pigeonholes, which will magically appear at some point in the basement of the Mathematical Institute.

8 May consultation session in MI (SR2)

Tomorrow's consultation session is still at 3pm, but we have changed rooms. We will be in SR2 in the MI.

Consultation Sessions

I will be running three consultation sessions for C6.3a:

They will start on Friday at 3pm during weeks 1--3. The first two will last one hour and will take place in my office (DH 2). The one during third week will last from 3pm--5pm and will take place in L1 in the main building. This third consultation session will be a 'revision lecture' to cover the problems and solutions from the June 2008 exam. Note that I lectured this course last year, so I wrote the 4 questions in last year's exam. (The ones from 2007 and before were written by other people.)

Solution Set 7 posted

I have posted the solutions for problem sheet 7. Note the separate document for problem 7.6.

2 DPhil studentships in network science available

I am looking for postgraduate students. In particular, I have two D.Phil. studentships in network science available starting Fall 2009.

One of them concerns financial networks.

The other one concerns political networks.


Please contact me to discuss these open positions if you are interested.

Solution Set 6 posted

I have posted solution set 6.

Solution Set 5 posted

I've posted solution set 5.

Solution Set 4 posted

I've posted solution set 4.

Solution Set 3 posted

I've posted the solutions to the third problem sheet.

Solution Set 2 posted

I have now posted the second solution sheet.

Solution Sheet 1 posted

Solution sheet 1 is now posted.

Drinks Reception for Oxford Chapter of SIAM (Tuesday, 21 October, 5pm)

On 21 October at 5pm, the Oxford chapter of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) will be hosting a drinks reception in the common room of the Mathematical Institute. Please come!

The SIAM chapter will be hosting several more events this year, including a young mathematicians' workshop in Hilary Term. Membership is free, and it will entitle you to free membership in SIAM (which is an excellent career move). This will give you a chance to interact with undergraduate students, postgraduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and faculty in applied mathematics and computational science.

Welcome to Perturbation Methods (C6.3a), Fall 2008

This is the website for Maths C6.3 (Perturbation Methods) for the Michaelmas 2008 term.

The lecture meets on Mondays at 3:00 pm and Tuesdays at 11:00 am in L2 in the Mathematical Institute. (As usual, lectures start 5 minutes after the hour and end approximately 5 minutes before the hour.)

On this blog, I'll be posting links, answering questions that are of general relevance to the course, etc.


The classes (which meet starting in week 2) are as follows:

(1) Monday 1:00 - 2:00 pm, DHSR3, Teacher: Becky Shipley, TA: Thomas Woolley

(2) Monday 2:00 - 3:00 pm, DHSR3, Teacher: Me, TA: Tim Squires

(3) Tuesday 12:30 - 1:30 pm, DHSR3, Teacher: Dave Hewett, TA: Tim Squires

(4) Tuesday 1:30 - 2:30 pm, DHSR3, Teacher: Phil Trinh, TA: Thomas Woolley


For each N = 1,...,7, the Nth problem sheet is due by Friday at 5pm of week N. It will then be discussed in class in week N + 1.

Getting into Dartington House on Monday May 5th

Monday is a bank holiday, and I have been sent a relevant note from the OCIAM secretary regarding getting into the building on that day. Here is the text of the message:

"Please be sure that you let them know that although their university
card will work on the door that they will also need to use the digital
code and/or ring buzzer 9 for Kate or Peter.

They will also need to get through the white card doors."


The instructions to call '9' should be on the front door, and that will allow someone to unlock the door for you.

Bicycles in London: eBourbaki mathematical modeling contest

Eliana Hechter of eBourbaki just sent me an e-mail about the following:

e-Bourbaki, "a mathematical problem-solving firm whose mission is to solve the world's mathematical problems using contests to inspire innovation and creativity", sponsors a mathematical modeling contest every spring and the recently-announced 2008 contest pertains to bicycles in London.

I encourage any and all mathematics students to participate in this!

Here is what Eliana wrote in her e-mail:

I am writing to inform you about an upcoming contest for students of
mathematics, computer science, and engineering in the United
Kingdom. The contest, which asks students to mathematically model a
low-cost bicycle rental service for the City of London, will
commence at 5pm on Monday, May 5, 2008 and end at 5pm on Monday, May
12, 2008. We hope that you will encourage the students with whom you
have contact to participate.

The first prize is ?1000 and winning projects may have the potential
to be implemented as London strives to become more sustainable and
efficient in its transportation infrastructure.

The contest is hosted by eBourbaki, a mathematical problem-solving
website I founded dedicated to increasing interest and involvement
in mathematics in the global community, and is sponsored by Winton
Capital. Further information can be found at our website,
www.ebourbaki.com. Participation in the contest requires contestants
to register with eBourbaki website and we encourage participants to
do so as soon as possible, to stay informed about contest details.

In the past others have used eBourbaki questions as part of their
teaching program, or as a 'final project' for applied modeling
classes. We are happy to work with professors if they choose to
consider this option.

Revised Answer Sheet 7 + typos in lecture notes

I have posted a revised answer key for the 7th problem sheet. I have corrected some typos and added a few clarifying remarks.


Please also note a typo in the lecture notes on turning points in WKB solution:

(1) With a transformation of the form [1 + delta * z = x], you want delta = epsilon^{2/3}

(Take a look at the WKB solution to problem 7.6 and you'll see this same scaling. This is what one gets for 'typical' first-order turning points, and that's what leads to Airy's equation.)