Information for undergraduates
Dynamical systems is a very interdisciplinary field. It is the study of differential equations (continuous time dynamical systems) and maps (discrete time dynamical systems) by virtually any means possible. This may include having to use ideas from disparate areas of mathematics, both pure and applied. Its applications are both towards pure mathematics, but also towards physics, chemistry, biology and even the social sciences.
The purpose of this page is to try to give some overview of possibilities for undergraduate students interested in learning more about dynamical systems and pursuing a project in this field.
Main areas
The research group in dynamics at Imperial College (DynamIC) consists of four permanent members of staff (Jeroen Lamb, Dmitry Turaev, Sebastian van Strien and Martin Rasmussen) and a large number of postdocs and PhD students. The main areas of research in our group are
- bifurcation theory,
- low-dimensional dynamical systems,
- nonautonomous and random dynamical systems.
Courses
The most natural way in which undergraduate students can get into contact with dynamical systems is through our regular 3rd/4th year undergraduate courses
- Dynamical systems (autumn term: Dmitry Turaev), and
- Chaos and fractals (autumn term: Jeroen Lamb).
At a more advanced level, there are various 4th year/MSc courses. Currently, we offer
- Bifurcation theory (spring term: Dmitry Turaev),
- Real and complex one-dimensional dynamical systems (spring term: Davoud Cheraghi and Sebastian van Strien),
- Ergodic theory – Seminar Course (spring term: Martin Rasmussen),
- Advanced dynamical systems – Seminar Course (autumn term: Jeroen Lamb).
In addition to the courses, we offer informal reading groups. Interested students can take part, and can use a reading group as the basis for a 3rd/4th year or MSc project.
Projects
As mentioned above, it is possible for 3rd/4th year and MSc students to do a project involving dynamical systems theory. A project can be close to one of the courses and reading groups on offer, or concern a different topic in dynamical systems theory. Please consult us if you may be interested, preferably as early as possible.
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