The semesterly class update
Just realized I never gave the semesterly low-down on impressions of classes. Here's this semester's bucket-o'-fun:
MATH 574 - Applied Matrix Analysis
I was told that this would be like any other upper-division undergrad math course, in spite of the 500+ numbering. Well, I was lied to. I am not completely lost during lectures, but I'm pretty close to it. Sylow p-subgroups and left R-modules and noncommutative rings are being thrown around everywhere and I can hardly tell them apart. On the plus side, I haven't had to actually DO anything for the class yet other than take notes in lecture. God help me when the first assignment is posted.
CHEM 538 - Mathematical Techniques of Physical Chemistry
Much more my speed (in spite of the grad-level listing). Cozy setting, a professor whose first topic of discussion was how we were going to arrange for coffee at the beginning of each class period . . . good stuff. The focus of the course is on math techniques used in chemical applications of quantum mechanics. Hence, the topics are matrix analysis (course overlap, anyone? :)), Fourier and Laplace transforms, second quantization, and so forth. Definitely beats the Advanced Organic Chemistry course I would've had to take otherwise.
PHYS 408a - Electricity and Magnetism
Why, you ask, am I taking another course in electromagnetism? Well, it fulfills an elective requirement, for one, but aside from that, the electromagnetism taught in introductory college physics is . . . not up to par with what's needed and used regularly in research physics. I discovered this the hard way working for Dr. Crawford, when, in spite of being reasonably comfortable with introductory electromagnetic theory, I was completely incapable of following the equations and arguments laid out in an electromagnetic derivation of the Rosenfeld beta tensor's role in optical rotation. This course looks like it will bridge that impass, and many more to come.
PHYS 304 - Mechanics
Why, you ask, am I taking another course in mechanics? . . . See above under PHYS 408a. Actually, this course is particularly important for molecular electronic structure theory (which may very well end up being my field of specialization). The professor is very jovial and encouraging; the class atmosphere is nice and relaxed.
CSCI 455x - Programming Systems Design
I'm reasonably comfortable at programming in C/C++, but I still have a lot of issues when it comes to the more ephemeral topics: pointers, classes, sorting algorithms and whatnot. But algorithmic efficiency is essential to the performance of computational chemistry software; it can make the difference between hours and weeks for calculations on a molecule. This course should clean up my code and make me a more efficient programmer.
Mathematics, physico-chemical intuition and programming skills are a computational chemists' most essential tools; hopefully by the end of this semester I will have collected a decent toolkit.
MATH 574 - Applied Matrix Analysis
I was told that this would be like any other upper-division undergrad math course, in spite of the 500+ numbering. Well, I was lied to. I am not completely lost during lectures, but I'm pretty close to it. Sylow p-subgroups and left R-modules and noncommutative rings are being thrown around everywhere and I can hardly tell them apart. On the plus side, I haven't had to actually DO anything for the class yet other than take notes in lecture. God help me when the first assignment is posted.
CHEM 538 - Mathematical Techniques of Physical Chemistry
Much more my speed (in spite of the grad-level listing). Cozy setting, a professor whose first topic of discussion was how we were going to arrange for coffee at the beginning of each class period . . . good stuff. The focus of the course is on math techniques used in chemical applications of quantum mechanics. Hence, the topics are matrix analysis (course overlap, anyone? :)), Fourier and Laplace transforms, second quantization, and so forth. Definitely beats the Advanced Organic Chemistry course I would've had to take otherwise.
PHYS 408a - Electricity and Magnetism
Why, you ask, am I taking another course in electromagnetism? Well, it fulfills an elective requirement, for one, but aside from that, the electromagnetism taught in introductory college physics is . . . not up to par with what's needed and used regularly in research physics. I discovered this the hard way working for Dr. Crawford, when, in spite of being reasonably comfortable with introductory electromagnetic theory, I was completely incapable of following the equations and arguments laid out in an electromagnetic derivation of the Rosenfeld beta tensor's role in optical rotation. This course looks like it will bridge that impass, and many more to come.
PHYS 304 - Mechanics
Why, you ask, am I taking another course in mechanics? . . . See above under PHYS 408a. Actually, this course is particularly important for molecular electronic structure theory (which may very well end up being my field of specialization). The professor is very jovial and encouraging; the class atmosphere is nice and relaxed.
CSCI 455x - Programming Systems Design
I'm reasonably comfortable at programming in C/C++, but I still have a lot of issues when it comes to the more ephemeral topics: pointers, classes, sorting algorithms and whatnot. But algorithmic efficiency is essential to the performance of computational chemistry software; it can make the difference between hours and weeks for calculations on a molecule. This course should clean up my code and make me a more efficient programmer.
Mathematics, physico-chemical intuition and programming skills are a computational chemists' most essential tools; hopefully by the end of this semester I will have collected a decent toolkit.