The growth of numerical analysis as a branch of mathematics has been especially rapid in the last fifty years because of the development of electronic computers. It is concerned with the mathematical and experimental study of robust and efficient algorithms for obtaining approximate numerical solutions to problems in all areas of science and engineering. Since the early 1980's it has become a very exciting field to work in because of the availability of powerful computers at reasonable cost, and recent developments are based on a range of new parallel architectures. The efficient exploitation of these new computers will be a major concern of numerical analysis for the foreseeable future. Statistics involves the use of modern techniques in mathematics and computing to analyse the data that arise in many areas of business and science.
Recent trends involve a resurgence of interest in methods for informal exploratory analysis of data.
This relies increasingly on friendly computing environments supported by efficient algorithms. The first year course discusses such procedures. The second year course lays down a more formal modelling probability framework. Later courses involve more advanced applications to time series, management science methods, and linear statistical models. No matter which course option is chosen, care is taken to make sure that all students are computer literate and are exposed to important ideas from the different areas.