Zhejiang University
Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Thomas Honold
Course Announcement
Finite Fields with Applications in Communication Engineering
Graduate Course
Course description: Among the mathematical prerequisites for communication engineering, finite fields play an increasingly important role. Major achievements of the past in error control coding, cryptography, sequence design, etc. would not have been possible without them. All the more this will be true of future communication systems.
The graduate course Finite Fields with Applications in Communication Engineering offers a gentle introduction to finite fields, covering the basic theory (algebraic construction of finite fields, primitive elements, subfields, extension fields, polynomials over finite fields) as well as implementation issues (finite field arithmetic, polynomial factorization) and selected applications in communication theory (coding theory, cryptography, and/or sequence design). The open-source mathematics software Sage (www.sagemath.org) is used for presenting computational examples.
After successful completion of the course students should
• know the basic theory of finite fields and its underlying concepts from abstract algebra;
• be able to understand and implement finite field algorithms;
• know how to apply finite fields in communication engineering;
• be able to understand and express advanced mathematical concepts in English.
Number of hours: 32 (24 h lectures + 8 h tutorials)
Credit points: 2
Course language: English
Prerequisites: A standard undergraduate mathematics education (part of any Mathematics, Engineering, Computer Science, or Physics program)
Examination regulations: Scores will be based on homework/class participation (40 %) and a final examination (60 %).
Course material: Lecture slides and exercise sheets; R.J. McEliece, Finite Fields for Computer Scientists and Engineers, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1987, and G.L. Mullen, C. Mummert, Finite Fields and Applications, American Mathematical Society, 2007, will be used as source books.