I am supposed to give a 1.5 hour lecture on intersections of mathematics and chemistry. Now I do not at all know how these two can be related. However I know that certain topics in mathematics have come from physics like Lie groups...the notion of symmetry is also common to both maths and science.
I would like to know of topics in mathematics that have been inspired from chemistry, and vice versa...in particular application of one subject to another or influence of one subject in the development of the other.
Initially this question was on the interaction between probability and chemistry, because I have specialised in probability theory, and am aware of the application of Large Deviation Principle in the study of polymer chains. However I thought that focussing on probability would narrow down the scope tremendously and we would almost be at the brink of not being able to find anything.
Sounds like a great lecture to be able to give! Group theory (a part of modern algebra) is highly relevant to spectroscopic interpretation, most clearly demonstrated in IR spectra. A great text for this is "Molecular Symmetry and Group Theory" by Alan Vincent.