Computer Science and

Mathematics
Ramdas B. Sonawane
Ness Wadia College of Commerce
Pune

Outline
Introduction
Influence of Math on Computer Science
Influence of Computer Science on Math
Computational Mathematics
Career Opportunities

Introduction
Computer science and mathematics are
currently extensively used in many
fields
Both have influenced the other and led
to many advancements in each

What is Decision
Mathematics?

Decision Mathematics - finding

efficient solutions to real life problems
e.g. what would be the most
efficient route for delivering post
around a network of streets?
This topic uses algorithms which
are vital in computer science.

Influence of Math on C.S.

Many computer science programs have
spawned from mathematics departments
During their time under mathematics,
they slowly built up reputation and
students, with most eventually becoming
their own department, then later, their
own school
Many noted computer scientists have
degrees in mathematics, including Knuth,
Cook, Lamport, Backus (FORTRAN, BNF),
Kay (GUI), and McCarthy (LISP)
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Influence of Math on C.S.

Why do C.S. students need Math?
Many people believe that mathematics
is fundamental to computer science
Real world problems are often
expressed mathematically and require
problem solving skills
Studies have shown that mathematical
ability has a strong correlation with
success in introductory computer
science courses
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Influence of Math on C.S.

When the human brain is subjected to
extended educational experience
permanent, physical changes occur,
creating neural pathways which aid in
learning new things
The more repetitive the learning process,
the strong and longer lasting the changes
The mind finds it extremely difficult to
accept formal abstractions, yet at some
point, they seem very real and the
developer does not see them as abstract
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Influence of Math on C.S.

Actual information learned in a class may go
away, but the learning abilities are still there
True goal of education is to improve minds
Should enable the student to acquire
abilities and skills to accomplish new things
Main benefit of learning and doing
mathematics is to develop the ability to
reason precisely and analytically about
abstract structures, which is what
computing deals with
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Influence of Math on C.S.

An example of math playing a vital role in
computer science occurs when using
public key cryptography
A published, publicly available key (the
public key) is provided in an open directory
The person keeps a private key
To send an encrypted file or email
message, the sender encrypts using the
recipients public key
The private key decrypts the message
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Influence of Math on C.S.

The keys are formed and secured based on
the properties of prime numbers
Basically, the public key is a product of two
random, large primes
The private key is the two primes
themselves
This algorithm is secure because of the
almost impossible task of factorizing the
large number into the two primes
To break this encryption, all prime numbers
less than the product must be checked
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Cryptology
Cryptography
Inventing cipher systems; protecting
communications and storage

Cryptanalysis
Breaking cipher systems

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Cryptology

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Cryptanalysis

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What is used in Cryptology?

Cryptography:
Linear algebra, abstract algebra, number
theory

Cryptanalysis:
Probability, statistics, combinatorics,
computing

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Need more than secrecy.

Need reliability!
Enter coding theory..

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What is Coding Theory?

Coding theory is the study of errorcontrol codes
Error control codes are used to detect
and correct errors that occur when data
are transferred or stored

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What IS Coding Theory?

A mix of mathematics, computer
science, electrical engineering,
telecommunications

Linear algebra
Abstract algebra (groups, rings, fields)
Probability & Statistics
Signals & Systems
Implementation issues
Optimization issues
Performance issues
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Influence of Math on C.S.

Samples of Math in C.S. areas
Relational Databases Rely on the
ideas of set theory to understand usage
NP-Completeness Heavy math basis
Network Topology of networks,
routing, and load analysis problems
deal with graph theory
Cryptography Encryption/decryption
schemes rely on mathematical ideas
and methods to provide security
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Influence of C.S. on Math

Computer algebra system (CAS)
Software program that allows symbolic
mathematics, the manipulation of
equations and expressions in symbolic
format
Typical CASs store expressions as
directed acyclic graphs, DAGs are also
used in the parse trees for compilers
Popular examples include Maple,
MATLAB, and Mathematica
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Influence of C.S. on Math

Maple
General purpose CAS
Developed in 1981 by a group at the
University of Waterloo
Sold commercially since 1988
Interpreted, dynamically typed
language
Allows static scoping, where a variable
always refers to its nearest binding
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Influence of C.S. on Math

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Influence of C.S. on Math

MATLAB
Numerical computing environment and
programming language
Has a toolbox to interface with Maple
engine which turns it into a CAS
Invented in late 1970s by Cleve Moler,
chairman of computer science at the
University of New Mexico
Used mainly for linear algebra and
numerical analysis
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Influence of C.S. on Math

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Influence of C.S. on Math

Mathematica
CAS and powerful programming language
Written by Stephen Wolfram
First version released in 1988
Uses a kernel which does all calculations
and feeds results to multiple front ends
Based on term rewriting
Supports functional and procedural
programming
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Influence of C.S. on Math

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The Four Color Theorem

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The Four Color Theorem

Long standing conjecture proven with aid
of the computer
Originally posed in the 1850s
Proven by Kenneth Appel and Wolfgang
Haken in 1976
States that the chromatic number (least
number of colors required to color a graph)
of a planar graph is no greater than four
Relies on case-by-case analysis carried out
by computer
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The Four Color Theorem

Showed that if the theorem was false, a
counterexample would have to exist in
one of 1,936 reducible configurations
(later reduced to 1,476)
A later enhancement by Robertson,
Sanders, Seymour, and Thomas reduced
that number to 633
Many disproofs use one region touching
all others, not realizing that the
surrounding regions can be colored with
only three
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The Four Color Theorem

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Computational Mathematics
Considered to be at the intersection of
computer science and mathematics
Application of computer methods to
simulate computer models and analyzing
the results
Historically, the software and models were
developed by people already working in the
application area (engineers, scientists, etc.)
Developing and analyzing these models
requires more than classic mathematics
and elementary computer science
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Computational Mathematics
Deals with issues such as
the implications of finite precision
arithmetic
the efficiency, accuracy, and stability of
numerical computations
the development and maintenance of
mathematical software
the effects of modern developments in
computer architectures and networks

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Computational Mathematics
Students in these programs study
Asymptotics, analysis, numerical analysis,
and signal processing
Discrete mathematics, combinatorics,
algorithms, computation geometry, and
graphics
Mechanics and field theories
Optimization
Partial and ordinary differential equations
Stochastic modeling, probability, statistics,
and information theory
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Computational Mathematics
Sample applications include
Tornado tracking for meteorologists
Numerical simulation of flow in
aeronautical engineering
Derivative pricing in computational finance
Modeling breaking waves
Medical imaging with functional magnetic
resonance imaging (fMRI)

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What are the career opportunities?

There is a huge shortage of
people with STEM(Science,
Technology, Engineering and Math
education) skills needed to enter
the workforce.
There are many new
applications of mathematics
in technology:
Games Design
Internet Security
Programming
Communications

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What are the career opportunities?

On-going applications in engineering, such as
Aircraft Modelling
Fluid Flows
Acoustic Engineering
Electronics
Civil Engineering.
and new scientific processes such as modelling
populations
and Diseases
Quantum Physics,
Astronomy,
Forensics and
DNA sequencing.
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What are the career opportunities?

Financial systems and online purchasing systems
are also underpinned by mathematics, relying
heavily on online security and encryption.

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What are the career opportunities?

Other areas include
Business
Logistics, Traffic
Planning, Project
Management,
Consultancy
Finance
Actuarial Work,
Accountancy,
Banking, Financial
Modelling

Medicine
Dentistry, Pharmacy,
Doctors, Nursing
Statistics
Medical Statistics, Market
Research, Government
Policy Advice
Teaching/Lecturing
Law
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Computer Science PG Programs

IIT Bombay M.Sc. Applied Statistics

and Informatics
IIT Guwahati M.Sc. Mathematics and
Computing
IIT Kharagpur M.Sc. Mathematics and
Computing
All IITs - M. Tech. Computer Science
(after M.Sc.)
IIT Madras M. Tech. Industrial
Mathematics and Scientific computing
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Computer Science PG Programs

SPPU M.Sc. Scientific Computing, M.

Tech. Modelling and Simulation
ISI M. Tech. Computer Science (after
M.Sc.)
IIT Kharagpur - Computer Science &
Data Processing

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Conclusions
Computer science and mathematics
have both influenced each other for
many years
A number of advancements in each
field can be directly linked to the other
Computational mathematics has
successfully combined the two fields
into one which is being used to produce
quality software for many important
fields
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Dr. Raymond Greenlaw The Synergy of Computer Science and

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