Paul Zorn

President, Mathematical Association of America

Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science
St. Olaf College
1520 St. Olaf Avenue
Northfield, Minnesota 55057-1098

Phone: 507-786-3414
Fax: 507-786-3116
Email: zorn@stolaf.edu
Office: Regents Hall of Mathematical Sciences 508

Courses I'm teaching in 2010-11

• Multivariable calculus: What's it about? Multivariable calculus (MVC) differs from single-variable calculus (SVC) mainly in that, while SVC has to do with derivatives and integrals of real-valued functions of one variable, MVC methods allow us to treat functions of several variables. The difference may not seem like much; in fact, it's huge. The real world involves many, many variables, and so MVC methods let us study and model more real-world phenomena, and in more detail, than would be possible with SVC methods alone.
• Elementary real analysis : What's it about? The very short answer is that real analysis is the mathematical theory behind elementary calculus. A slightly longer answer is that mathematical analysis is the branch of mathematics that deals with properties of functions. (In the same drastically oversimplified sense, the other two main branches of mathematics are algebra - having to with equations - and arithmetic - having to do with numbers . The ``real'' in real analysis has to do with the real numbers: the functions studied in real analysis are usually real-valued functions of a real number. One important purpose of the course is to revisit - a lot more carefully than on the first pass - important ideas, definitions, and theorems from elementary calculus.
• Complex analysis: What's it about? To make a long story very, very short ... : Mathematical analysis is the branch of mathematics that deals with properties of functions. (In the same drastically oversimplified sense, the other two main branches of mathematics are algebra --- having to with equations -- and arithmetic ---having to do with numbers . The ``complex'' in complex analysis has to do with the complex numbers: just as the functions studied in real analysis are usually real-valued functions of a real number, the functions studied in complex analysis are usually complex-valued functions of a complex number. Interestingly enough, many of the familiar functions, operations, and ideas from real analysis carry over (with appropriate changes) to complex analysis: polynomials, trigonometric functions, logarithms, derivatives, integrals, etc. In a sense, therefore, this course is really about old, familiar ideas---but seen from a new and different point of view.

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