This course is one of the longest running Nonlinear Dynamics Courses in the US, taught for more than 30 years in the U of I Physics department. This course provides a broad introduction to the nonlinear dynamics of physical systems with varying degrees of complexity. We will survey a variety of concepts associated with (but not limited to) bifurcation phenomena, mappings & difference equations, strange attractors, nonlinear oscillations, chaotic behavior, adaptive systems & adaptation to the edge of chaos, control of chaos, symbolic sequences, biomechanics and singular motion, entrainment, dissipative systems, nonlinear signal processing, catastrophes, adaptive computation, evolutionary dynamics, traffic jams, Markov processes, Brownian motors & rachets, and universal scaling.
