18.085: My Summer at MIT - Week 1

Hi! My name is Amy Beth Prager. I’m spending my summer in the mathematics department of MIT. I am pursuing coursework in applied numerical methods, taking a class known as 18.085, Computational Science and Engineering.

Why am I doing this? Because I believe that great power lies in mathematics. My goal in learning these advanced techniques is to better carry out my own work and research. Applied and computational mathematics can solve problems that would otherwise be intractable and provide insights that are unimaginable without modern methods. For example, in our first week of class, we discussed the science of weather forecasting. While it may seem shocking in the internet age, it was not too long ago (and within my lifetime!) that weather could not be accurately predicted beyond a day or so. In the 1960s, just as computers were becoming capable of complex calculations, an MIT professor

developed an algorithm for long-term weather prediction. At the time, nobody in the scientific community believed that weather could be predicted several days in advance. However, using the best and most powerful computers available at the time, this professor proved his methods were useful and accurate. As an interesting commentary on how technology has advanced over the past 50 years, our class implemented his “unbelievable” algorithm on our laptops using software downloaded in minutes from the internet. How times have changed!

It has been my lifelong dream to be an MIT affiliate living in Cambridge, and now I am! So far, the places I’ve explored and people I’ve met have been truly inspirational. All of my suitemates and I are visiting from all over the US. I am the only one from the eastern half of the United States. One of my suitemates said it best: at MIT, it doesn’t matter where you come from, what your parents do, or how much money you have; all that matters is what you are capable of. I am very happy to be here, and I greatly look forward to sharing my experiences with all of you this summer.