I just wanted to say thanks for the math class. The Mathematica lessons were great for visualizing the material and getting a grasp for how linear algebra works and how to use it. I took a linear algebra class several years ago as part of my bachelos degree in electrical engineering. I remember not enjoying that class very much because it was full of proofs and theorems that I did not understand very well or how to apply to the real world. This class was a much better experience!

As much as Luke Skywalker loved his time in math he had always known something was wrong... His math abilities grew and grew, but he always felt that the methods of teaching were a constraint on his ability to really understand the mathematics being taught. When he had grown old enough he finally met Obiwan Kenobee who told him that he was meant to be a math master and that the slight force he had always felt would eventually become one with him and he would understand all. Obiwan explained to him that all of this would begin with the destruction of the old math empire... In the next year Luke created a calculus program on computer and began slowly defeating the dark side of math that had always haunted him. As time went on he transfered all the mathematics the rest of the world could comprehend on to a computer and defeated the empire of long boring lectures and unnecessary computation. The force prevailed and true mathematics finally came through.

You may be wondering just who I am, so please allow me to tell you a little about myself. I am currently a graduate student in organic chemistry at Caltech. I received my BS in chemistry from the U of I in 1994 andI took all of my Calculus classes with C&M. When I came out of the C&M courses, I was worried that advanced math and chemistry would be very difficult because of the way that I had taken my previous classes. And to be honest, some of the other classes may "seem" a little more difficult, but the reason is probably not what you might think. C&M stresses the concepts of the mathematics more than the actual mechanics of calculation. What this means is that when you walk away from C&M and head out into more advanced classes you have an understanding of the meaning behind the math, you know what the integrals mean, not just how to calculate them by hand. This is extremely important to a chemist, because most of the types of problems that we try to calculate are not amenable to doing by hand. In a typical quantum chemistry course, you learn how to calculate the exact solution to the Schrodinger equation by hand. (The Schrodinger equation is used to calculate, among other things, the electron distributions of molecules and give the pretty pictures of orbitals that you see in your general chemistry textbook). The funny thing is that for the most part you can only solve the equation exactly for all but the simplest of molecules (such as H2). Anything more complicated (i.e. most of chemistry) cannot be solved exactly. How do we get around this? We use numerical approximations and we solve the many easy to set up,but complicated to calculate, equations using computers.

I am currently a 2nd year Ph.D. student at the University of Minnesota in Geology and want to report the advantages that C&M DiffEq has given me. It turns out that describing the mathematics of deformation in rocks is simply the flow section of C&M Diffeq expanded to 3-D. If you can find the strain matrix of the rocks (matrix of the diffeq in C&M), you can get flow paths and watch how the rock deforms. Another one of my advisor's students had been working on this before I came and has developed the theory behind relating these flow paths to rock deformation. It was considered quite neat that I had actually learned how to do this as an undergrad in C&M. I am using the C&M DiffEq lessons to teach new geology grad students the mathematics behind our work.

C&M gave me the real feeling that I was actually doing something, not just plugging and chugging away.

Before I came to college I loved math. It had always been my favorite class all through school. When I graduated high school I even got the math award.. When I got to [college] my love of math quickly died. . . I no longer understood math or calculus for that matter. Then I switched majors and I had to continuing taking more Math. Last semester I was also in traditional Calc II and was getting a D- before I dropped it. Someone suggested I take C&M CalcII. I figured it couldn't be any worse than last semester so I signed up for it. I'm glad I did. I wouldn't say that I love math now, but I am being to like it again. This class not only helped teach mathematics but it explained mathematics. The normal classes don't do this.

The problems we solved . . . apply to our classes and to our lives. I learned 10 times more than I would've in [a traditional calculus class] . I actually feel smart. Because we do everything by computer, we are forced to know why we do what we do. The style and the types of questions are things we can relate to and picture. I personally learn more when I understand and am interested... I gotta tell you, this is the most fun I have ever had in a math class. Seriously.

I dreaded taking Calc II. I saw it as a bunch of formulas I needed to know to get through Calc III. C&M certainly made it interesting . . . I don't think I am lacking anything as far as comparing it to a standard calc class. I am able to do things on paper and able to read a calc book and understand, more so that a few engineers who got A's in (traditional) Calc II.

C&M has brought to me something I thought I would never have-- a bit of understanding of the important relationships in mathematics. Some people (say in my [traditional] calc I class) were able to look at the texts and seem to understand, but I have been frustrated very many times by not being able to. I guess that's why I signed up for this class. I used to not like math. But I was just being a product of the way I was taught.

The most useful thing for me about these courses is the fact that I when I do need to use material from any of these classes, I can picture the problem in my mind and have little trouble setting up an answer. If I were armed only with equations and paper and pencil, I wouldn't even know where to begin.

C&M calculus has made me understand Economics and actually like it. Most people cringe when they hear that I am an Econ major, and I think their reaction results from the fact that they really don't understand it. Never have I used complex equations in Economic applications, but what I have learned visually from C&M calculus helps me understand graphs and concepts inclass everyday. This comprehension has made me realise the incredible logic behind economics, and now the subject fascinates me.

I currently work for Chevron Overseas Petroleum as a Computer and Communicati ons Network Analyst. While higher level mathematics does not normally come into play in my day to day job, the analytical thinking skills I've learned, since taking VectorCalculus&Mathematica, sure do. I am known among my peers as the guy you want to ask if you have a math-related problem. Taking the VectorCalculus&Mathematica classes [via NetMath Internet] has also gotten the attention of my management and I feel that it has helped my credibili ty with them immensely. Having a radio and RF background I have often wondered where many of the equations come from. Now, thanks to graphical approach of VectorCalculus&Mathematica, I can look at equations, such as Maxwell's equations, and understand what they are saying about the flow of the electric and magnetic fields. That is very gratifying to me. Calculus&Mathematica makes Mathematics come alive to me. It is no longer a dry, tedious subject but one that I can actively explore and play with. It's fun.

It's very beneficial for ChE students to take the Mathematica version of Math 285 [DiffEq] due to the broader amount of material that the DiffEq&M athematica lessons cover. In the standard textbook version of diffeq, students learn how to mostly solve diffeq's that ChE's will never encounter. In the real world, engineers encounter problems much more complex than seen in the standard version of diffeq but that often crop up in their DiffEq&Mathematica homework. Additionally, the students who take DiffEq&Mathematica will have an increased understanding of the physical meaning of what they are doing. By presenting the material in a graphical form and covering things like resonance and the predator-prey model, students won't just be presented some random formula. They will see an approach to the problem

When I originally signed up to take C&M BioCalc for my freshman calculus course, my older brother tried to talk me out of it. He told me that I wouldn't learn anything, and that I would have trouble later on in my engineering classes. Out of stubbornness, I stuck with it. This past year, my brother came to me to ask my help. One of his mechanical engineering classes was filled with Calculus III material and he was having trouble. After I helped him, he said to me, "I wish I had taken a C&M course. I probably still would have forgotten all of the formulas, but at least I would know how to go about getting the answer."

I thought I would never be able to do math at UIUC until I found out about these programs.

I am now in my last semester at the U of I and will be graduating with highest honors. I have never felt I was hurt by taking a C&M class versus a traditional style class. On the contrary, I think it has helped me immensely. While other Electrical and Computer Engineering students were getting bogged down in math, I was able to apply my Mathematica knowledge and C&M skills to concentrate my attention to understanding the core Electrical and Computer Engineering issues.

When the environment for learning is so enjoyable, it's impossible not to try your best and to build a relationship with everyone around you.

Mathematica] Math 285 has been fun,as well as a great help with other related classes (like ECE 210).