• 170150701 Differential Geometry, R 6:30-9pm Math Conference Room
• Professor H. Nguyen, Robinson G22, (856) 256-4500 Ext. 3886,  nguyen@rowan.edu (email), http://www.rowan.edu/math/nguyen/ (website)
• Office Hours: T 3:30-4:20pm, WR 5:30-6:20pm, and by appointment (feel free to stop by my office whenever I'm in)
• Course Outline: (sections from Oprea textbook)

Week 1: 1.1-1.3              Week 8: 5.5, 6.1
Week 2: 1.4-1.5, 2.1       Week 9: 6.2-6.3
Week 3: 2.2-2.3             Week 10: 6.4-6.6
Week 4: 2.4, 3.1             Week 11: 6.7, 9.1
Week 5: 3.2-3.4             Week 12: 9.2-9.3
Week 6: 3.5-3.6, 5.1       Week 13: 9.4-9.5
Week 7: 5.2-5.4             Week 14: TBA

• Textbook: Differential Geometry and its Applications, J. Oprea, Prentice-Hall 1997.
• Mathematica for Calculus III: A tutorial handbook for students, Rowan Math Department.  Available on-line at http://www2.rowan.edu/mars/depts/math/TECHMANUALS.htm .
• Graphing calculator
• Rowan network account

Distribution

• 25% - Problems journal
• 25% - Research Paper
• 25% - Final exam
• 25% - Class participation

• A - between 85-100%
• B - between 70-85%
• C - between 60-70%
• D - between 50-60%
• F - less than 50%

1. Problems Journal

Readings and homework problems will be assigned weekly.  Students should write up solutions to the homework problems inside a bound notebook designated as your Problems Journal.  Entries should be dated.  This Problems Journal will be collected twice for grading, namely at mid-semester and at the end of the semester.  You will be given a scoring sheet to fill out indicating the percentage of problems that you were able to solve.  Also, you may be asked to present solutions to selected problems from your Journal at the beginning of each class period.

Collaborating: Students are encouraged to collaborate and discuss the homework with each other and with the professor when doing the homework. However, each student must independently write up his or her own solutions.  Copying another student's solution is strictly probihited and violates Rowan's policy on academic honesty. Such violations will be reported to the Dean of Students. Moreover, the students involved will automatically be given an F for a course grade.

2. Research Paper

Each student must write a research paper.  This paper involves investigating the geometrical properties of their favorite family of surfaces and writing up the results of their investigation.  Your choice of surface must be approved by the instructor.  Papers should be minimally ten pages (assuming 12-point font, one-inch margins, and double-spacing).  You will be graded on the clarity of your exposition, your depth of mathematical analysis, and your use of a computer algebra system, e.g. Mathematica, to visualize surfaces and to calculate their properties.

3. Class Participation

This class will be run as a seminar where you will be asked to discuss the material as a group, to solve problems on the blackboard, and sometimes to lecture on certain parts of the material.  Our last regular class meeting will involve a poster session, where students will present a summary of their research paper by poster format.

Class attendance is mandatory.  Since this class meets only once a week, it is important that you avoid missing class since a large amount of material will be covered each week.  Each student will be allowed a total of two unexcused absences; thereafter, the instructor reserves the right to drop a student's course grade by one letter.  Excused absences are those due to illness or a family/medical emergency; however, those due to a transportation/scheduling problem are not.

• Final exam - Thursday, May 8, 6:30-8:30pm, Math Conference Room.