Professor Martin
Golubitsky, Cullen Distinguished Professor of Mathematics,
Houston University, has a good word for the Asian-American
students he teaches there.
‘‘All the Indian students I have taught at Houston
have lived up to their reputation,’’ he says.
On his first visit to the country, Golubitsky is working with a group of Maths teachers here to popularise the subject that most students, both Indian and American, dread. |
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A renowned specialist in Bifurcation Theory, one of the key
branches of Modern Mathematics, Golubitsky is in the city
to deliver a series of lectures at St. Stephen’s College
as part of the college’s annual maths event, ‘‘Life
of Mathematics’’. And he is not among those who
believe that the subject can best be preserved by keeping it arcane. In a speech peppered with witty anecdotes, |
Golubitsky made
this insight: ‘‘I do not believe in classifications
such as pure and applied mathematics. Maths is maths.’’
‘‘With technology playing so much of a part in
lay people’s lives,’’ he told Newsline later,
‘‘it does not help to have such distinctions.
Both branches need to have a meeting ground. ’’Today
morning, an interactive session with DPS RK Puram students left him a happy mathematician,
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convinced the subject
was in good hands.
‘‘I agree that the traditional system of maths
learning helped students in sprucing up their analytical abilities.
Computational devices should only be a tool and not be too
much of a support to lean on,’’ he remarked.
Golubitsky, president of the influential SIAM, the body of advanced mathematicians in the US is
in consultation
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,with the Mathematical Sciences Foundation
(MSF), which organised the lectures, to try and evolve a system
of maths learning extending from the school to university
level.
‘‘The system must tap the abilities of students,
and we shall discuss these issues here before taking it
further,’’ added Professor Dinesh Singh, president
of the Foundation.
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