Horatio:
O day and night, but this is wondrous strange! Hamlet:
And therefore as a stranger give it welcome.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in our philosophy.
The wondrous world of mathematics was studied by many of the world's
cultures, systematically explored in Greek times, widened by the
mathematicians of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and further
expanded and put on sound foundations during the last two-hundred
years. It is alive and well today. Many new branches are being
explored, old problems are solved and new ones formulated, and the
boundaries of our knowledge are extended steadily. Much of the modern
world is unthinkable without mathematics; without it, there would be
little technology, no exploration of space or the subatomic world, no
advanced physics, chemistry, biology, or medicine. There would be no
radio or television, no trains, no cars, no airplanes, no electric heat
or light, and, of course, no computers, e-mail, or internet.
The mathematics program introduces our students into the miraculous
world of mathematics at many levels. We introduce the general college
student to basic mathematical skills and ideas. We acquaint students of
the physical or social sciences with the tools necessary for their
further studies. We provide our majors with a solid knowledge and
understanding of abstract mathematics as well as some of its
applications, thus preparing them with what they need for further
studies, for teaching, and for future careers in government, business,
or industry.
In recent years, computers have revolutionized our lives. We use
computers for work and for play, for sending letters and for chatting
with others, and for keeping up with the news, good and bad.
Our courses in computer science investigate this new world in its
principles, structures, and design. Students study programming and its
languages and structures, the design and architecture of digital
computers, the organization and manipulation of data, and the
principles of artificial intelligence. When they graduate, they are
prepared to understand this strange and wondrous new world.
Most of our graduates are very successful in their careers. When they
visit us years after graduation (and many do) and we ask them what was
most important about their education at St. Mary's, a surprisingly
large number respond: "We learned how to think".
