Applied Mathematics (Minor)
Program Description
Mathematics is the branch of human inquiry involving the study of data, numbers, relations, shapes, space, symmetries, and how these concepts relate to each other. Despite its often abstract nature, mathematics takes inspiration from the real world and provides the logical and analytical tools for tackling many of the important problems of our time. By its very nature, mathematics provides the means to break many problems into manageable pieces that can be analyzed and solved. In fact, mathematical approaches have been central to solving problems and modeling phenomena in a wide array of disciplines. Probability and statistical analysis are fundamental for mapping and analyzing the human genome. Advanced mathematical theories provide the keys to analyzing the risk of rare events, a basic problem of the financial markets. In physics, geometry finds applications to particle physics, to string theory, and to cosmology. In neuroscience, exciting new research into the structure and functioning of the brain relies heavily on the insights provided by mathematical modeling. These are but a few of the contemporary problems relying on mathematical analysis. Mathematical thinking is grounded in rigor and abstraction, but draws its vitality from questions arising in the natural world as well as applications to industry and technology.
Mathematics is often associated with science, particularly physics and chemistry, but it is indeed the language and tool of the contemporary life sciences, including ecology and environmental studies, as well as the world of business and the economy.
The minor in Applied Mathematics at NYU Abu Dhabi is designed to prepare students in science and the social sciences with the critical quantitative tools and reasoning skills needed to solve problems in those disciplines.