Math 190: First-year Seminar
Mathematics in Sustainability
Spring 2026
Location: MSC N301
Lecture: MW 11:30 a - 12:45 p
Professor: Mitchell Scott
Office Hours: T 1:00-2:30, F 3:00-4:30, MSC N436
Overview
When you think about sustainability, there are many different academic fields that come to mind, but math is probably not one. This is a shame because the connections between math and sustainability are abundant. In this first year seminar, we hope to bridge that gap! In this course, students will learn the complex dynamics of the environment in terms of ecological networks, economic games, linear programming optimization, and data visualization. This course is designed for first year students to get a taste of upper level mathematics that are not traditionally taught as math courses at Emory. The disparate topics will be connected by their focus on the environment as well as interdisciplinary studies. Hopefully, the connections become clear, and the definition of sustainability transcends just green spaces and recycling.
While it is easy to say "companies should just go green" or "people are silly for not recycling", we try to contextualize these behaviors using operations research (sometimes called OR), i.e. how do businesses and rational consumers actually think? We explore decisions, games, optimization, and states as mathematically rigorous objects.
Disclaimer: This class was a fictious class created for the sole purpose of satisfying the Piedmont TATTO curriculum for Fall 2024. This class was designed and is running for the first time in Spring 2026. I think there are many modifications that can be made to make this class a 300 level math class, or maybe be cross listed with Environmental Studies in future semesters.