Complex Analysis for Applications
Instructor: Terence Tao, MS 5622, ph. 206-4844 (tao@math.ucla.edu)
Lectures: MWF 11-11:50 am, at MS 5138
Sections: Thu 11-11:50am, at MS 5138
Office hours: Tu 11-12 F 1-3
TA: Hsin-Tai Wu, MS 3915E (htwu@math.ucla.edu)
TA Office hours: Thu 2-4
Textbook: Fundamentals of Complex Analysis for Mathematics, Science, and Enginerring, E.B. Saff and A.D. Snider, Second Edition. Prentice Hall, 1993. We will be following the official syllabus closely, but the presentation will probably differ slightly from that in the textbook. It's a good idea to read the textbook concurrently with the course for a second opinion.
Homework: Homework will be collected and returned every Thursday in section meetings, starting on Thursday, January 20; there will be eight assignments. Each homework will consist of about ten problems of varying difficulty (both computational and theoretical), almost all of which will be from the textbook. The exact questions will be available on the Web, and also announced in lectures. Only three of the questions, chosen at random, will actually be graded, however it is recommended that you attempt all the questions in the assignment.
Solutions to each homework will be available on the Web on the evening of the due date. Late homework will not be accepted.
In addition to the homework, there will be a quiz on the first TA session (i.e. Thursday, January 13) which will test you on lower division material. The material you see in the quiz will come up again later in the course, so if you had difficulties with the quiz, then you may need to brush up on lower-division calculus if you want to continue with this course.
Examinations: There will be two mid-terms during the course, on Friday, Feb 4 and Friday, Feb 25 (both during the usual hour of 1pm - 2pm at MS 5138), as well as a final examination on Tuesday, March 21, 8-11 a.m (exam code 04) at a room to be announced.
Grading: The final grade is based on the quiz (1%), homework (9%), mid-terms (20% each), and the final examination (50%).
If you cannot make one of the examinations, contact me as soon as possible, preferably one week in advance of the exam. Retroactive, or last-minute requests for a make-up, will be denied unless there is a genuine emergency or need which could not have been foreseen earlier.
Calculators and written materials: You may use whatever resources you wish to do the homework, including calculators, textbooks, friends, TAs, etc., although by the end of the course you should be able to do all the homework questions without any assistance. No calculators or texts will be allowed in the mid-terms and finals, but a 5x7 index card will be permitted for the final. More information on examination procedures will be given later in the course.
Mathematical level: The emphasis in this course is on applications and computations, but there will be some theoretical material, including a few abstract proof-type questions in the homework and in the exams. For most of these questions, a relevant sequence of equations arranged in an intelligent and logical order, accompanied by a few words of explanation at the critical steps, will be sufficient.
World-Wide Web: You are encouraged to visit the web-page for this section at
This page will contain all the official information for the course, the latest homework, lecture notes, handouts, Virtual Office Hours, solutions to previous homework, sample exams and quizzes, updates, and other pieces of information.