Jeff Selden Academic Professional Lecturer and Bon Viveur Office: Ross Hall 211 Tel: 307-766-2280 Address: Department of Mathematics University of Wyoming Laramie, WY 82071-3036 Email: jselden (at sign) uwyo (dot) edu

Education

2004: Ph.D. in Mathematics, University of Arizona

1998: B.S. in Mathematics, New Mexico State University

Research

I enjoy mathematical analysis motivated by physics. In particular, this includes studying the spectral theory of partial differential operators, e.g., Schroedinger operators and divergence-type operators. The former is related to quantum theory, which in my own research, comes in two flavors: a bounded setting and a periodic setting. The latter relates to the propagation of classical waves in perdiodic media and has links to flashy concepts like phontonic crystals.

A more recent interest of mine is acoustics. Particularly, I am interested in musical acoustics and its use in the design and analysis of musical instruments. This is a classical topic in physics and spectral theory. One of the most interesting aspects of this field is the inherently subjective judgement of the ''good or bad'' qualities of an instrument. In many cases, the mathematically optimal solution to a musical acoustics question is not the same as what actually sounds the best to the human ear. I find this interplay between psychology and mathematics very fascinating.

For more detailed info about my professional life, click here to see my CV.

Publications:

1. Periodic operators in high contrast media and the integrated density of states function. Communications in Partial Differential Equations, 30 (2005), 1021-1037. (Preprint)

Teaching

• Calculus I - Section 10 - course webpage, WeBWorK, useful links
• Applied Differential Equations - Section 03 - course webpage

• University of Wyoming, Spring 2009 - 2250: Linear Algebra; 2310: Applied Differential Equations
• University of Wyoming, Fall 2008 - 2200: Calculus I, 2310: Applied Differential Equations
• University College London, UK - 1402: Mathematical Methods 2
• University of Birmingham, UK - MSM 4P13: Topics in Analysis

You can find a complete list of the classes that I've taught here.

Undergraduate Research Information.