Instructor:  Dr.  Wai W. Lau        Office:  OMH 241        E-mail:  lauw@ spu.edu
Homepage:  http://myhome.spu.edu/lauw (Link to schedule and other important information)
Office Hour: See course webpage or by appointment
Prerequisites: MAT 2401, 3237 and 3360
Text:
1. Allman and Rhodes, Mathematical Models in Biology
2. Zeng, Scientific Programming with Maple Computing
3. Other supplemental materials.

Objective: This course focuses on construction and analysis of mathematical models of problems in the real world. By the end of the course, students should be able to:

• perform scientific programming and symbolic computations with Maple;
• implement Monte Carlo simulation;
• implement discrete events simulation;
• compute the Mean Time Between Failures;
• undertand and apply linear time series models;
• underatnd and apply moving average, regression-based and/or ARIMA models;
• do estimation, data analysis and forecasting with time series models;
• underatnd forecast errors and confidence intervals;
• construct probability models of molecular evolution;
• apply the Base Substitution method; and
• compute Phylogenetic Distances and construct Phylogenetic Trees;

Expectations:

• Able to provide written explanations of the ideas behind key concepts.
• Able to clearly present and explain solutions to problems in both written and verbal form.
• Read and write proofs appropriate at this level.
• Able to work as a team to solve problems.
• Able to use Maple to write short programs.

Computer Software:  The class will meet in computer classrooms equipped with one PC for every student.  A variety of mathematical and statistical software is available on these computers, including the computer algebraic system Maple.  Substantial use of Maple will be made in this class.  Maple will be available for use on computers in labs throughout the campus.  Copies of the software for use on your own computer will also be available for purchase at a substantial discount for students (You need to get a discount code from your instructor).

Exams:  There will be 1 mid-term exam and a final.  The ranking of the Modeling contest is a major assement for this course..

Homework: Homework problem sets will be assigned. All work must be typed. The ONLY references you can use are the textbook and the lecture note.  You cannot use any other resources such as other books, software, and the internet. 
1. Group Homework: You are required to work together in a group of 2 or 3.
2. Individual Homework: No discussion with any other person, except may be the instructor.  Discussing or copying homework is considered as an act of academic dishonesty.
3. Your homework must be neat and easy to read.   Otherwise, no pointswill be given. The instructor may make you redo your homework sets (again and again) until the presentations are acceptable.
4. Homework must be written with proper logical format.
5. Staple your Homework.  Points will be taken off if you fail to do so. (Unless it is collected vis Canvas)
6. Homework is due at the beginning of the class.  Absolutely no late homework.

Workload: On average, the workload for this class is expected to be more than 15 hours per week.

Class Participation:
1. There are reading assignments.  I will ask questions during the class period to check your reading progress.
2. There are activities in some class sessions.
At the end of the quarter, your grades on class participation will be determined by the above activities and other observations.

Make-Up Policies for Exams: If a student has a documented conflict that will prevent him or her from taking an exam at the scheduled time, he/she must arrange IN ADVANCE with the instructor to take the exam early.

Makeups on exams ARE NOT AUTOMATIC.  Do NOT assume that because you miss an exam that you will get to make it up. A makeup exam must be APPROVED by me. Lying to avoid taking an exam is considered as an act of academic dishonesty.

A grade of "Incomplete" will not be given if the student does not have a passing grade (70%) at the time of the request.

Attendance: Beginning with the first week of the quarter, attendance will either be taken by the instructor, or based on participation from weekly small graded learning/assessment opportunities.

Grading:  There are 400 points possible.  Your grade will be assigned by the following rules:

Reasonable Accommodation Statement

If you have a specific disability that qualifies you for academic accommodations, please contact Disabled Student Services in the Center for Learning to make your accommodations request. Once your eligibility has been determined, Disabled Student Services will send a Disability Verification Letter to your professors indicating what accommodations have been approved.

Students with disabilities need to contact Disabled Student Services in the Center for Learning to request academic accommodations. Disabled Student Services sends Disability Verification Letters out to all your professors indicating the appropriate accommodations for the classroom based on your disability.

Academic Schedule Religious Accommodation Policy

Students who would like to request an accommodation for a religious holiday (e.g. request that an exam scheduled for a religious holiday be rescheduled) should make a written request within the first two weeks of the course pursuant to SPU’s Academic Schedule Religious Accommodation Policy. The policy is posted in the Undergraduate Student Handbook at https://spu.edu/administration/office-of-student-life/handbook/behavioral-community-expectations/university-policies and on page 16 of the 2019-20 Graduate Student Handbook, which is posted at https://spu.edu/catalog/graduate/20190/student-life.

Penalties for Breaches of Academic Integrity Statement

See the current SPU catalog for the definitions of academic integrity.  In addition, lying to avoid taking an exam is considered by the instructor as an act of academic dishonesty.

Penalties for breaches of academic integrity includes no credits for the work in question or no credits for the course.

Emergency Assembly Areas

Emergency Response Information