Math 796 (Topics in Algebraic Combinatorics), Spring 2008
Section 78865

Basic Information | Problem Sets | Lecture Notes | Final Exam / Project | Textbooks | Links

• Instructor: Jeremy Martin
  
  541 Snow, 864-7114
• Syllabus (PDF)
• Meeting times: MWF, 12:00-12:50 PM, 408 Snow
• Office hours: Tue 11:00-12:00 and Wed 2:00-3:00, or by appointment
• Prerequisite: Math 724 (Enumerative Combinatorics) or permission of the instructor

Problem Set #1 (due Friday 2/1/08)
Problem Set #2 (due Friday 2/15/08)
Problem Set #3 (due Friday 2/29/08)
Problem Set #4 (due Friday 3/14/08)
Problem Set #5 (due Friday 4/11/08)
Problem Set #6 (due Wednesday 5/6/08)

Refer to the current version.

Each student enrolled in Math 796 will have the choice of taking a comprehensive final exam or doing a final project. The final project will consist of reading a research paper or book chapter and giving a short (20-25 minute) presentation to the class. The presentations will take place during the last week of classes (May 5 and 7).

According to the KU Registrar, the final exam is scheduled for Thursday May 15 from 10:30 AM - 1:00 PM, presumably in Snow 408.

All the books in the list below can be perused in Jeremy's office. The official textbook is #1 in the list below; however, you may want to substitute #3, whose material is a bit closer to what will be covered in the class. (All the homework assignments will be self-contained.) You should definitely obtain #4 and #5, which are free downloads.

1. R.P. Stanley, Enumerative Combinatorics, volume 1 (Cambridge, 1997)
   (Enumeration; posets and lattices; generating functions)
   Amazon | Google Books
2. R.P. Stanley, Enumerative Combinatorics, volume 2 (Cambridge, 1999)
   (More enumeration, including exponential generating functions; symmetric functions)
   Amazon | Google Books
3. M. Aigner, Combinatorial Theory (Springer, 1997)
   (Enumeration; posets, lattices, and matroids)
   Amazon | Google Books
4. R.P. Stanley, Hyperplane Arrangements (lecture notes available free online)
5. A. Schrijver, A Course in Combinatorial Optimization (lecture notes available free online)
6. T. Brylawski and J. Oxley, The Tutte polynomial and its applications, Chapter 6 of Matroid applications, N. White, ed. (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1992)
7. B. Sagan, The Symmetric Group, 2nd edn. (Springer, 2001)

Mathematics links:

• The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences

Mathematical and technical writing information:

• Writing in the Sciences (UNC Chapel Hill Writing Center)
• A Guide to Writing Mathematics and Mathematical Writing Checklist (Prof. Kevin Lee, Purdue)

KU links:

• Jeremy's home page
• KU Mathematics Department
• KU Registrar
• KU Bookstore
• KU policies on academic honesty
• KU Office of Disability Resources

Outside KU:

• Get Acrobat Reader (free software, necessary to read PDF files on this page)