The Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences is pleased to announce the following network-wide graduate courses in mathematical sciences. These courses are available online and provide access to experts from throughout the PIMS network.
Students at Canadian PIMS member universities may apply for graduate credit via the Western Deans’ Agreement (WDA). Please be advised, in some cases students must enroll 6 weeks in advance of the term start date and will typically be required to pay ancillary fees to the host institution (as much as $700!) or explicitly request exemptions. Please see the WDA section for details of fees at specific sites, and check the individual courses below for registration details. Courses hosted at UW must nominate a co-instructor at a Canadian PIMS site. That site will be used to process WDA student applications.
Students at universities not covered by the WDA but which are part of the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies (CAGS) may still be eligible to register for this course under the Canadian University Graduate Transfer Agreement (CUGTA). Details of this program vary by university and are also typically subject to ancillary fees. Please contact your local Graduate Student Advisor for more information.
The courses in this section are currently open for registration. Expand each item to see the course details.
The courses in this section are currently running but are no longer accepting registrations.
Jayadev Athreya : jathreya@uwa.edu
University of Washington
Ozgur Yilmaz : oyilmaz@math.ubc.ca
University of British Columbia
Complex Analysis
Manifolds
Registration for this course is not currently available.
Translation surfaces and their moduli spaces have been the objects of extensive recent study and interest, with connections to widely varied fields including (but not limited to) geometry and topology; Teichmüller theory; low-dimensional dynamical systems; homogeneous dynamics and Diophantine approximation; and algebraic and complex geometry. This course will serve as an introduction to some of the big ideas in the field, centered on the ergodic properties of translation flows and counting problems for saddle connections, and associated renormalization techniques, without attempting to reach the full state of the art (an aim that is in any case impossible given the speed at which the field is evolving).
We will start by introducing the important motivating example of the flat torus, exploring its geometry, and its associated dynamical and counting problems. The linear flow on the torus and its associated first return map, a rotation of a circle, are amongst the first dynamical systems ever studied. The counting of closed orbits is intricately tied to number theory. We discuss, as motivation, the moduli space of translation surfaces on a torus, a bundle over the well-known modular curve and the action of $GL^+(2,\mathbb R)$ on this space of translation surfaces. Translation surfaces are higher-genus generalizations of flat tori. We will define translation surfaces from three perspectives (Euclidean geometry, complex analysis, and geometric structures), and show how some translation surfaces arise from unfolding billiards in rational polygons. We will give a short introduction to Teichmüller theory and its relation to the study of translation surfaces, and discuss the natural dynamical systems associated to translation surfaces, namely, linear flows and their first return maps, interval exchange transformations. We will explore their ergodicity and mixing properties, and will study an important example of a translation surface flow for which every orbit is dense but not every orbit is equidistributed with respect to Lebesgue measure, a phenomenon that does not occur in the case of linear flows on the torus. We will show how information about the recurrence properties of an orbit of a translation surface under the positive diagonal subgroup of $SL(2, \mathbb R)$ (the Teichmüller geodesic flow) can be used to get information about the ergodic properties of the associated linear flow on an individual translation surface. As another example of the strength of renormalization ideas, we will show how the ergodic properties of the $SL(2, \mathbb R)$-action can be used to obtain counting results for saddle connections and, subsequently. Finally we will discuss examples, characterizations, and properties of surfaces with large affine symmetry groups, known as lattice or Veech surfaces.
The instructor will use a tablet and Zoom. The tablet will be displayed locally in the classroom and via zoom. Lecture notes will be distributed in PDF format.
This class will meet every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1:30-2:50 (Pacific time), starting on March 31st. Remote participation is via zoom
The courses in this section ran in a previous term.
Stanley Yao Xiao : stanleyyao.xiao@unbc.ca
University of Northern British Columbia
Group and ring theory
linear algebra
real analysis
Registration for this course is not currently available.
In the past 25 years or so, the subject of “Arithmetic Statistics”, beginning with the work of Bhargava’s success in enumerating rings and fields of low degree and rank, and Bhargava and Shankar’s proof of the boundedness of algebraic rank of elliptic curves, is an enormously exciting subject. We will give an introduction to the subject centred on the work of Bhargava and his coworkers.
Lectures will be conducted via zoom, using electronic slides. Slides, assignments and exams will be distributed electronically. Lectures will be recorded and made available to registered students.
Anotida Madzvamuse : am823@math.ubc.ca
University of British Columbia
Ordinary differential equations
Numerical methods (Numerical Analysis I and II)
Partial differential equations
Matrix theory
Linear systems
Registration for this course is not currently available.
The purpose of this graduate course is to equip graduate students with cutting-edge techniques in data-driven mathematical and computational modelling, analysis and simulations of semi-linear parabolic partial differential equations (PDEs) of reaction-diffusion type. It will cover diverse areas in data-driven modelling using PDEs in biology. I will cover approaches on formulating models from data using first principles, mathematical analysis of reaction-diffusion systems such as linear stability analysis, basic concepts on bifurcation analysis and numerical bifurcation analysis. The second part will focus on numerical methods for PDEs including finite difference methods, and finite elements. This part will also deal with time-stepping schemes and nonlinear solvers for nonlinear PDEs. If time allows, we will look at applications of reaction diffusion theory to cell motility and pattern formation. To support theoretical modelling and numerical analysis, numerical algorithms will be developed and implemented in MATLAB as well as in open finite element source software packages such as FeNiCs, deal.ii and others. Students will be allowed to use packages of their choice as appropriate. Expertise and skills sets to be acquired through this course
We will use zoom for each lecture. Course notes will be distributed in advance and lecture notes will be distributed after each lecture.
Martin Frankland : Martin.Frankland@uregina.ca
University of Regina
A course in general topology or metric space topology (required)
A course in group theory (strongly recommended)
Registration for this course is not currently available.
The course is a first semester of algebraic topology. Broadly speaking, algebraic topology studies spaces and shapes by assigning algebraic invariants to them. Topics will include the fundamental group, covering spaces, CW complexes, homology (simplicial, singular, cellular), cohomology, and some applications.
Lectures will take place Monday, Wednesday and Friday 12:30 - 1:20 PM Regina time.
The class will be in a hybrid format hosted in a classroom equipped with hyflex technology.
Lecture notes will be projected on the screen, shared simultaneously on Zoom, and posted afterwards on the course website.
Nils Bruin : nbruin@sfu.ca
Simon Fraser University
Registration for this course is not currently available.
This course provides an introduction into analytic number theoretic methods with applications to arithmetic geometry. We will study Dirichlet series with applications to distributions of prime numbers and as examples of L-series. We will also look at modular forms and their applications to the arithmetic of elliptic curves and their moduli spaces. We will also consider results in diophantine approximation, such as lower bounds on linear combinations of logs of algebraic numbers, with as application Siegel’s theorem on finiteness of integral points on elliptic curves.
The class will be held in a room equipped with controllable cameras. The instructor will write on whiteboards in this room and the camera controls used to provide clear views of the boards. Zoom links will be available on the course webpage (via Canvas, which will be available to enrolled students).
Please see the SFU Calendar for more details about this course.
Jonathan Noel : noelj@uvic.ca
University of Victoria
An undergraduate course on discrete mathematics, combinatorics or graph theory. It is recommended that students have taken at least two such courses.
Registration for this course is not currently available.
This course covers classical problems and modern techniques in extremal combinatorics. The first part of the course is on extremal properties of families of sets: e.g.
Other topics may include VC dimension, Kneser’s Conjecture, the Kruskal-Katona Theorem and the Littlewood Offord Problem. The rest of the course is on extremal graph theory: e.g.
Other topics may include the Szemerédi Regularity Lemma, Shannon Capacity, the Entropy Method, the Container Method and Stability. The course webpage, which includes a link to a preliminary version of the course notes, can be found here.
This course will run Sept. 4th-Dec. 4th, 2024. Lectures will take place every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10:30am-11:20am (Pacific Time). See the UVic course catalog entry for more details.
Lectures will be livestreamed via Zoom. The lecturer will write on chalkboards which will be shared via Zoom. Recordings of the lectures will be available for asynchronous viewing. Preliminary lecture notes are available on the course website and assignments will be distributed electronically.
David Goluskin : goluskin@uvic.ca
University of Victoria
Introductory PDEs
Introductory analysis
Registration for this course is not currently available.
The course will be an introduction to the behaviour of fluids (liquids and gases) from an applied math perspective, starting with an introduction to the Navier-Stokes equations and other PDEs used to model fluids. The emphasis will be on physically relevant properties of solutions that can be deduced mathematically. The course will have more mathematics than a typical physics or engineering fluids course, including basic functional analysis and variational methods, and it will have more physics than a pure PDE analysis course. Through detailed study of several fundamental model systems, we will see PDE examples of topics that may be more familiar in the context of ODE dynamical systems, such as linear stability, nonlinear stability, bifurcations and chaos. Undergraduate knowledge of PDEs and real analysis are assumed.
There will be no exams, only assignments access and submitted online via Crowdmark.
The lecturer will use zoom for each lecture. Typed lecture notes will be distributed electronically.
Manish Patnaik : patnaik@ualberta.ca
University of Alberta
We will aim to make this course accessible to students with a basic background in algebra and analysis (at the level of introductory graduate courses) and basic topology (having seen cohomology before would be useful, but is not absolutely essential). Although no specific knowledge from differential geometry, Lie theory, or number theory are required, additional familiarity or interest in these fields will be useful, especially in the latter parts of the course.
Registration for this course is not currently available.
The most basic example of an arithmetic group is $\Gamma=SL_n(Z),$ and understanding the cohomology of this group (and its close relatives) will be the basic theme of this course. The cohomology we are interested in can also be identified with that of the locally symmetric space $\Gamma \setminus X$ where, in this case, $X= SL_n(R)/ SO(n)$ is a generalization of the (complex) upper half plane. As such, a diverse set of techniques, stemming from geometry, topology, harmonic analysis, and number theory can be used to analyze the situation. After carefully developing the basics of the subject, we will present some of the major developments in this area (mostly from the 1960s-1970s), and then end with an overview of modern directions.
The lecturer will use a tablet connected to zoom/camera to live stream lectures and notes. Hand written (from table) and typed lecture notes will be distributed.
Lior Silberman : lior@math.ubc.ca
University of British Columbia
Registration for this course is not currently available.
This course presents classical mechanics to a mixed audience of mathematics and physics undergraduate and graduate students. It is complementary to regular phsyics courses in that while the physics background will be developed the emphasis will be on the resulting mathematical analysis. Physics topics may include Newtonian mechanics and Galilean symmetry, Lagrangian mechanics, conservation laws and Noether’s Theorem, rigid body motion, Hamiltonian mechanics. Mathematical topics may include existence and uniqueness of solutions to ODE, calculus of variations, convexity and Legendre transformations, manifolds, tangent and cotangent vectors, rotations and the orthogonal group.
Full information about this course is available on the course website.
Lectures will be held in-person on the UBC campus and on Zoom. Lectures will be recorded and the videos posted to an unlisted but openly accessible YouTube playlist. There will be Zoom office hours and a Piazza discussion board.
Rebecca Tyson : rebecca.tyson@ubc.ca
University of British Columbia - Okanagan
Registration for this course is not currently available.
In this course we are learning to build and analyse nonlinear differential equation models. The focus of the course will be models of ecological systems, but the techniques learned apply broadly across application areas. We learn a wide variety of analytic, graphic, and simplification techniques which elucidate the behaviour of these mathematical models, whether or not a closed-form solution is avalable. By the end of the class, the students will be able to competently read and follow a research paper presenting and analysing a differential equation model from a wide variety of application areas.
The class will meet on Monday, Wednesday and Friday during term from 12pm-1pm (Pacific Time).
Lectures will be livestreamed via zoom. The lecturer will be writing on a whiteboard.
Shaun Lui : Shaun.Lui@umanitoba.ca
University of Manitoba
Mikael Slevinsky : Richard.Slevinsky@umanitoba.ca
University of Manitoba
Undergraduate analysis and PDEs
Some exposure to numerical analysis desirable, but not necessary
Some homework questions will require computer programming (MATLAB or Julia, etc.)
Registration for this course is not currently available.
Spectral methods are numerical methods for solving PDEs. When the solution is analytic, the convergence rate is exponential. The first part of this course gives an introduction to spectral methods. The emphasis is on the analysis of these methods including truncation and interpolation error estimates, and convergence and condition number estimates. The second part of the course focuses on fast algorithms for orthogonal polynomials. These algorithms leverage data-sparsities that are present in many of the problems when solved by orthogonal polynomial expansions.
This class will meet Mondays and Wednesdays from 11am-12:15pm (CDT)
Lectures will be delivered via Zoom using iPad with GoodNotes.
Yaozhong Hu : y.hu@ualberta.ca
University of Alberta
Some knowledge on Differential equations and Probability Theory
Registration for this course is not currently available.
This is a one semester three credit hour course. We shall first briefly introduce some basic concepts and results on stochastic processes, in particular the Brownian motions. Then we will discuss stochastic integrals, Ito formula, the existence and uniqueness of stochastic differential equations, some fundamental properties of the solution. We will concern with the Markov property, Kolmogorov backward and forward equations, Feynman-Kac formula, Girsanov formula. We will also concern with the ergodic theory and other stability problems. We may also mention some results on numerical simulations, Malliavin calculus and so on.
We will use zoom for each lecture. The eclass website will be used to post lecture slides, homework collections, monitor midterm and final examinations
Khanh Dao Duc : kdd@math.ubc.ca
University of British Columbia
Registration for this course is not currently available.
Advances in imaging techniques have enabled the access to 3D shapes present in a variety of biological structures: organs, cells, organelles, and proteins. Since biological shapes are related to physiological functions, biological studies are poised to leverage such data, asking a common statistical question: how can we build mathematical and statistical descriptions of biological morphologies and their variations? In this course, we will review recent attempts to use advanced mathematical concepts to formalize and study shape heterogeneity, covering a wide range of imaging methods and applications. The main mathematical focus will be on basics of image processing (segmentation, skeletonization, meshing), Diffeomorphisms and metrics over shape space, optimal transport theory with application for image analysis, manifold learning, with some other concepts covered in specific applications (e.g. quasiconformal mapping theory for shape representation, 3D reconstruction in Fourier space…). Students will be encourage to work in groups to present research papers and do a small project to pass the course. This course will also build on the recent BIRS workshop, Joint Mathematics Meetings, and the upcoming SIAM workshops (LSI 2024, SIMODS 2024) on this topic, with some participants to these events invited to contribute to this course and present their research.
Remote access will be via zoom. A combination of prepared slides and hand written notes will be used. The hand written notes will be on a blackboard or tablet depending on room availability. The lecturer will distribute lecture notes online.
From time to time online or hybrid courses which are not part of the PIMS Network Wide Courses program are sent to us. These courses are not officially supported by PIMS, but may be of interest to students within our network. Please see the External Courses page to see courses or to submit one for inclusion.
In order to register in a PIMS digital course for the Western Deans’ agreement you must obtain the approval of the course instructor. Once you have obtained their approval please complete the Western Deans’ agreement form . The exact process and deadlines vary by site, but the general steps for students at PIMS member universities are
In the event of any problems or delays while completing the WDA form, PIMS strongly recommends staying in touch with the instructor of the course, as they may be able to offer assistance.
Select your university and the university hosting the course you are interested in below. Read both sets of instructions carefully before proceeding. In all cases students should contact the host institution to determine which fee exemptions they may be eligible and how to apply for them before the start of term.
Please note: The Western Deans’ Agreement provides an automatic tuition fee waiver for visiting students. Graduate students paying normal required tuition fees at their home institution will not pay tuition fees to the host institution. However, students will typically be required to pay other ancillary fees to the host institution or explicitly request exemptions (e.g. Insurance or travel fees).
For help completing the Western Deans’ agreement form, please contact the graduate advisor at your institution. For more information about the agreement, please see the Western Deans’ Agreement website .