Education

Abstract

The Education section is intended to provide modules that teachers and students of applied mathematics and scientific computation can use directly in studying these fields, in courses and beyond. These modules are likely to fall into one or more of four broad categories: applications, special topics, software, and historical modules. The first issue of this section contained one paper describing a Web-based software package and a second discussing a modern special topic in applied mathematics. In this, the second issue, there are two different types of papers. Michael Berry (no relation to the Sir Michael Berry of the article with Keating earlier in this issue), Zlatko Drmac, and Liz Jessup describe the application of linear algebra to problems in information retrieval. In particular, they highlight an important recent technique in information retrieval called latent semantic indexing that itself draws heavily upon linear algebra techniques including the singular value decomposition. The early parts of the paper can serve as a very nice motivating example for students and teachers in both linear algebra and numerical computation courses, while the more detailed and advanced parts of the paper can constitute a unit in a graduate or advanced undergraduate course in numerical linear algebra that combines real applications with serious numerical mathematics. P. Broadbridge, G.R. Fulford, N.D. Fowkes, D.T.C. Chan, and C. Lassig provide a simple yet compelling use of mathematical modeling to understand a very practical problem, the appearance of bubbles in gummed wine labels. Using techniques that are understandable by undergraduates and a delightful writing style, they demonstrate the insight provided by mathematical modeling on a problem that is simple to describe yet perplexing to explain. The paper will make an excellent module in differential equation and mathematical modeling courses and can even be used as a motivating example in earlier courses. Both articles are written in the style that is meant to be the standard for this section: informal, easy to understand, and written to students. Unsolicited submissions form the primary source of potential papers for the Education section, although the editorial board also will recruit submissions when it is aware of good prospects. The goals and style of this section are somewhat different than is standard for academic journals and even for educationally-oriented papers in the previous version of SIAM Review. For these reasons, prospective authors are strongly encouraged to consult the section guidelines, which were published in this preface in the previous issue of the journal and are available on the web at http://www.siam.org/journals/sirev/revguide.htm. Prospective authors are also welcome to contact the Section Editor or Associate Editors with ideas and questions about planned submissions before making a formal submission.