Geometric Combinatorics (18.319, Spring 2006)

Instructor: Igor Pak

Class schedule: MWF 11-12 pm, 2-135

Office Hours: Mon 3-4:30, room 2-390

Textbooks: there will be no textbook. I will be posting lecture notes from 18.318 course I taught last year that I am converting into a book. These lecture notes (and additional material that's in them) will cover much of the course. I do recommend the following textbook: J. Matousek, Lectures on Discrete Geometry, Graduate Texts in Mathematics 202, Springer, 2002.
This book might be helpful to broaden your view on the subject and supplement the material in the lectures.

Additional reading will be handed out in class if necessary.

Grading: Home assignments 100%, no final.

Difficulty: This is an graduate course and the students are expected to solve challenging problems.

Home Assignments

There will be 6 biweekly home assignments (each for two weeks). The assignments will be posted here in .ps and .pdf format and not distributed on paper.

HA1. Download .ps file or .pdf file.
Hints: Download .ps file or .pdf file.

HA2. Download .ps file or .pdf file.
Hints: Download .ps file or .pdf file (not yet complete).
Cayley-Menger determinant: Download .ps file or .pdf file.

HA3. Download .ps file or .pdf file.

HA4. Download .ps file or .pdf file.

Collaboration Policy.

You can form discussion groups of up to 5 people each. You can discuss problems but have to write your own separate solutions. You should enclose the list of people you spoke with at the end of each HW. In principle, you may choose to discuss each problem with a different set of students - in that case enclose a list for each problem.

Click here to return to Igor Pak Home Page.

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Last updated 10/23/2006