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I'm a sophomore in Electrical Engineering and have a keen interest in abstract mathematics. As you know the mathematics taught in the first two years of engineering is nothing but more applied mathematics comprising of Fourier/Laplace/Z transforms, some linear algebra, numerical methods and probability.

I, on the other hand, am interested in pure mathematics. I try to study on my own whenever I get time from my engineering course. Its not that I dislike my EE course but I am more inclined towards pure mathematics.

Is there any intersection of the two, in which I can pursue my MS/further studies. Something which gives me a flavor of both? Sorry for the long post and if my question appears too vague. I'm hoping to get some guiding light from the esteemed members of this forum.

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    $\begingroup$ In 2010 IPAM (at UCLA) had a conference about "convex optimization and algebraic geometry". $\endgroup$
    – littleO
    Jan 23, 2014 at 8:03
  • $\begingroup$ You could also read about Claude Shannon, whose career was defined by the intersection of EE and math. $\endgroup$
    – mbeckish
    Jan 14, 2015 at 20:48

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Some may define "pure" mathematics as those branches that do not have applications. Assuming you meant "mathematics not generally taught to EE majors", then here are some places to start:

  • Topology is being used for applications in signal processing and path finding for robotics.
  • Lie Algebras are being used to describe and control the movements of robotic joints.
  • Graph theory is used in object recognition and other methods of computer vision.
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    $\begingroup$ Algebraic topology is also used for sensor networks. See, for instance, Homological Sensor Networks by de Silva and Ghrist. $\endgroup$
    – J W
    May 10, 2014 at 16:17
  • $\begingroup$ See also Michael Robinson's recent book: Topological Signal Processing. $\endgroup$
    – J W
    Jun 24, 2014 at 19:44

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