Networks

I had intended to write this edition's Geometer's Corner on some of the mathematics underlying the networks that are now so much a part of our lives.This would include, to mention only a few, the Internet, theWorldWideWeb, the U.S. Power Grid, and the explosion of social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. In preparing to write, I did a lot of research and found that to do justice to the topic would require more than just an article, so I am in the process of preparing a series of hands-on activities focusing on the mathematics of networks for the next Consortium. For those of you who are interested, I have some suggestions for how you might prepare yourself for these exercises.