Evaluation Of Nsf S Program Of Grants For Vertical Integration Of Research And Education In The Mathematical Sciences Vigre

In 1998, the National Science Foundation (NSF) launched a program of Grants for Vertical Integration of Research and Education in the Mathematical Sciences (VIGRE). These grants were designed for institutions with PhD-granting departments in the mathematical sciences, for the purpose of developing high-quality education programs, at all levels, that are vertically integrated with the research activities of these departments. To date, more than 50 departments at 40 institutions have received VIGRE awards. As requested by NSF, the present volume reviews the goals of the VIGRE program and evaluates how well the program is designed to address those goals. The book considers past and current practices for assessing the VIGRE program; draws tentative conclusions about the program's achievements based on the data collected to date; and evaluates NSF's plans for future data-driven assessments. In addition, critical policy and programmatic changes for the program are identified, with recommendations for how to address these changes.

The 2001 National Research Council (NRC) report Basic Research Opportunities in Earth Science (BROES) described how basic research in the Earth sciences serves five national imperatives: (1) discovery, use, and conservation of natural resources; (2) characterization and mitigation of natural hazards; (3) geotechnical support of commercial and infrastructure development; (4) stewardship of the environment; and (5) terrestrial surveillance for global security and national defense. This perspective is even more pressing today, and will persist into the future, with ever-growing emphasis. Today's world-with headlines dominated by issues involving fossil fuel and water resources, earthquake and tsunami disasters claiming hundreds of thousands of lives and causing hundreds of billions of dollars in damages, profound environmental changes associated with the evolving climate system, and nuclear weapons proliferation and testing-has many urgent societal issues that need to be informed by sound understanding of the Earth sciences. A national strategy to sustain basic research and training of expertise across the full spectrum of the Earth sciences is motivated by these national imperatives. New Research Opportunities in the Earth Sciences identifies new and emerging research opportunities in the Earth sciences over the next decade, including surface and deep Earth processes and interdisciplinary research with fields such as ocean and atmospheric sciences, biology, engineering, computer science, and social and behavioral sciences. The report also identifies key instrumentation and facilities needed to support these new and emerging research opportunities. The report describes opportunities for increased cooperation in these new and emerging areas between EAR and other government agency programs, industry, and international programs, and suggests new ways that EAR can help train the next generation of Earth scientists, support young investigators, and increase the participation of underrepresented groups in the field.

How can the federal government gauge the overall health of scientific researchâ€"as a whole and in its partsâ€"and determine whether national funding adequately supports national research objectives? It is feasible to monitor US performance with field-by-field peer assessments. This might be done through the establishment of independent panels consisting of researchers who work in a field, individuals who work in closely related fields, and research "users" who follow the field closely. Some of these individuals should be outstanding foreign scientists in the field being examined. This technique of comparative international assessments is also known as international benchmarking. Experiments in International Benchmarking of U.S. Research Fields evaluates the feasibility and utility of the benchmarking technique. In order to do this, the report internationally benchmarks three fields: mathematics, immunology, and materials science and engineering, then summarizes the results of these experiments.

This groundbreaking book explores the current state of doctoral education in the United States and offers a plan for increasing the effectiveness of doctoral education. Programs must grapple with questions of purpose. The authors examine practices and elements of doctoral programs and show how they can be made more powerful by relying on principles of progressive development, integration, and collaboration. They challenge the traditional apprenticeship model and offer an alternative in which students learn while apprenticing with several faculty members. The authors persuasively argue that creating intellectual community is essential for high-quality graduate education in every department. Knowledge-centered, multigenerational communities foster the development of new ideas and encourage intellectual risk taking.

Descriptions of summer research programs: The AIM REU: Individual projects with a common theme by D. W. Farmer The Applied Mathematical Sciences Summer Institute by E. T. Camacho and S. A. Wirkus Promoting research and minority participantion via undergraduate research in the mathematical sciences. MTBI/SUMS-Arizona State University by C. Castillo-Chavez, C. Castillo-Garsow, G. Chowell, D. Murillo, and M. Pshaenich Summer mathematics research experience for undergraduates (REU) at Brigham Young University by M. Dorff Introducing undergraduates for underrepresented minorities to mathematical research: The CSU Channel Islands/California Lutheran University REU, 2004-2006 by C. Wyels The REUT and NREUP programs at California State University, Chico by C. M. Gallagher and T. W. Mattman Undergraduate research at Canisius. Geometry and physics on graphs, summer 2006 by S. Prassidis The NSF REU at Central Michigan University by S. Narayan and K. Smith Claremont Colleges REU, 2005-07 by J. Hoste The first summer undergraduate research program at Clayton State University by A. Lanz Clemson REU in computational number theory and combinatorics by N. Calkin and K. James Research with pre-mathematicians by C. R. Johnson Traditional roots, new beginnings: Transitions in undergraduate research in mathematics at ETSU by A. P. Godbole Undergraduate research in mathematics at Grand Valley State University by S. Schlicker The Hope College REU program by T. Pennings The REU experience at Iowa State University by L. Hogben Lafayette College's REU by G. Gordon LSU REU: Graphs, knots, & Dessins in topology, number theory & geometry by N. W. Stoltzfus, R. V. Perlis, and J. W. Hoffman Mount Holyoke College mathematics summer research institute by M. M. Robinson The director's summer program at the NSA by T. White REU in mathematical biology at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College by J. P. Previte, M. A. Rutter, and S. A. Stevens The Rice University Summer Institute of Statistics (RUSIS) by J. Rojo The Rose-Hulman REU in mathematics by K. Bryan The REU program at DIMACS/Rutgers University by B. J. Latka and F. S. Roberts The SUNY Potsdam-Clarkson University REU program by J. Foisy The Trinity University research experiences for undergraduates in mathematics program by S. Chapman Undergraduate research in mathematics at the University of Akron by J. D. Adler The Duluth undergraduate research program 1977-2006 by J. A. Gallian Promoting undergraduate research in mathematics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln by J. L. Walker, W. Ledder, R. Rebarber, and G. Woodward REU site: Algorithmic combinatorics on words by F. Blanchet-Sadri Promoting undergraduate research by T. Aktosun Research experiences for undergraduates inverse problems for electrical networks by J. A. Morrow Valparaiso experiences in research for undergraduates in mathematics by R. Gillman and Z. Szaniszlo Wabash Summer Institute in Algebra (WSIA) by M. Axtell, J. D. Phillips, and W. Turner THe SMALL program at Williams College by C. E. Silva and F. Morgan Industrial mathematics and statistics research for undergraduates at WPI by A. C. Heinricher and S. L. Weekes Descriptions of summer enrichment programs: Twelve years of summer program for women in mathematics-What works and why? by M. M. Gupta Research experience for undergraduates in numerical analysis and scientific computing: An international program by G. Fairweather and B. M. Moskal Articles: The Long-Term Undergraduate Research (LURE) model by S. S. Adams, J. A. Davis, N. Eugene, K. Hoke, S. Narayan, and K. Smith Research with students from underrepresented groups by R. Ashley, A. Ayela-Uwangue, F. Cabrera, C. Callesano, and D. A. Narayan Research classes at Gettysburg College by B. Bajnok Research in industrial projects for students: A unique undergraduate experience by S. Beggs What students say about their REU experience by F. Connolly and J. A. Gallian Diversity issues in undergraduate research by R. Cortez, D. Davenport, H

"One of the themes of the book is how to have a fulfilling professional life. In order to achieve this goal, Krantz discusses keeping a vigorous scholarly program going and finding new challenges, as well as dealing with the everyday tasks of research, teaching, and administration." "In short, this is a survival manual for the professional mathematician - both in academics and in industry and government agencies. It is a sequel to the author's A Mathematician's Survival Guide."--BOOK JACKET.

We live in a highly connected world with multiple self-interested agents interacting and myriad opportunities for conflict and cooperation. The goal of game theory is to understand these opportunities. This book presents a rigorous introduction to the mathematics of game theory without losing sight of the joy of the subject. This is done by focusing on theoretical highlights (e.g., at least six Nobel Prize winning results are developed from scratch) and by presenting exciting connections of game theory to other fields such as computer science (algorithmic game theory), economics (auctions and matching markets), social choice (voting theory), biology (signaling and evolutionary stability), and learning theory. Both classical topics, such as zero-sum games, and modern topics, such as sponsored search auctions, are covered. Along the way, beautiful mathematical tools used in game theory are introduced, including convexity, fixed-point theorems, and probabilistic arguments. The book is appropriate for a first course in game theory at either the undergraduate or graduate level, whether in mathematics, economics, computer science, or statistics. The importance of game-theoretic thinking transcends the academic setting—for every action we take, we must consider not only its direct effects, but also how it influences the incentives of others.