Department Profile

Department of Mathematics

The Department of Mathematics came into existence together with IIT Kanpur in 1960. Right from its inception the Department has striven to set high standards of teaching and research. The Department has succeeded in this endeavour and over the years, it has produced highly qualified and motivated Mathematicians and Statisticians to provide leadership in Educational Institutions, R&D organisations and Software Industry. Graduates of this Department are distinctively placed in reputed institutions and organisations both within the country and abroad. It has been the cherished goal of the Department to inculcate in the students a desire to excel, to demonstrate originality and to develop a sense of responsibility towards the society. Accordingly, the Department continuously reviews and monitors the curriculum of its academic programmes.

Apart from actively participating in the B.Tech programme of the Institute by offering basic courses in Mathematics and Statistics, the Department offers the following undergraduate and postgraduate programmes:

· A five year integrated M.Sc programme in Mathematics and Scientific Computing

· Two year M.Sc programmes in Mathematics and in Statistics

· Ph.D programmes in Mathematics and in Statistics.

After a thorough review, keeping in view the requirements of ongoing research in Mathematics as well as that of software industry, the five year integrated M.Sc programme in Mathematics and Scientific Computing was started in 1995 which replaced the then existing five year M.Sc programmes in Mathematics and in Statistics. However, there is enough scope in the programme for a student to get a solid training in Mathematics/Statistics.

These programmes attract some of the best students from all over the country. The scope of these comprehensive and flexible programmes, apart from imparting training in Mathematics and Statistics including applications, encourages interaction with other Departments of the Institute. The Department of Mathematics represents a wide spectrum of research interests ranging form very abstract to practical aspects. Active research is being pursued in the areas of Complex, Functional and Harmonic Analysis, Algebra, Graph and Coding Theory, Differential Geometry, Differential Equations, Numerical Analysis, Computational Mathematics, Mathematical Modelling, Mathematical Logic, Image Reconstruction and Tomography, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Tribology, Statistical Decision Theory and Inference, Order Statistics, Applied Stochastic Processes and Operations Research. Faculty members in the Department collaborate with other research groups and individuals in India and abroad. The faculty members have also undertaken sponsored research projects from various funding agencies like DST, CSIR, DRDE, DOE and NBHM. Several books have been written and edited by them. These have received wide acclamation from both students and professionals. The faculty has organized short-term courses and instructional conferences in many areas like: Differential Analysis, Modelling Techniques in Statistics, Non-commutative Harmonic Analysis, Sobolev Spaces, Environmental Dynamics and Pollution, Mathematical Theory of Environmental Biology, Statistical Quality Control, Methodology and Applications.

The Department has a well developed state-of-the-art PC Lab which houses several Pentium II processors, apart from relevant software. This lab has changed the very manner in which students think about mathematics. However, much remains to be done through this lab which will essentially change the teaching of Mathematics in the years to come.

In the coming decade, apart from strengthening the existing areas, the Department intends to develop areas related to mathematical aspects of scientific computing in all its manifestations. It is envisaged that efforts in these directions will lead to greater collaboration with other disciplines of the Institute at a level higher than at present.

For further information:

Professor U.B. Tewari, Head,

Department of Mathematics

Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

Kanpur 208 016

E.mail: ubtewari@iitk.ac.in

[back] [next]