Models For Undergraduate Research In Mathematics

While there seems to be no easy way of turning undergraduates into research mathematicians, some schools have run successful programmes which increased the research participation of their students. Many such model programmes are presented in this book. Dramatic results were achieved in various intensive summer programmes, when full attention was devoted to the research process.

This volume provides accessible and self-contained research problems designed for undergraduate student projects, and simultaneously promotes the development of sustainable undergraduate research programs. The chapters in this work span a variety of topical areas of pure and applied mathematics and mathematics education. Each chapter gives a self-contained introduction on a research topic with an emphasis on the specific tools and knowledge needed to create and maintain fruitful research programs for undergraduates. Some of the topics discussed include:• Disease modeling• Tropical curves and surfaces• Numerical semigroups• Mathematics EducationThis volume will primarily appeal to undergraduate students interested in pursuing research projects and faculty members seeking to mentor them. It may also aid students and faculty participating in independent studies and capstone projects.

Speaking directly to the growing importance of research experience in undergraduate mathematics programs, this volume offers suggestions for undergraduate-appropriate research projects in mathematical and computational biology for students and their faculty mentors. The aim of each chapter is twofold: for faculty, to alleviate the challenges of identifying accessible topics and advising students through the research process; for students, to provide sufficient background, additional references, and context to excite students in these areas and to enable them to successfully undertake these problems in their research. Some of the topics discussed include: • Oscillatory behaviors present in real-world applications, from seasonal outbreaks of childhood diseases to action potentials in neurons • Simulating bacterial growth, competition, and resistance with agent-based models and laboratory experiments • Network structure and the dynamics of biological systems • Using neural networks to identify bird species from birdsong samples • Modeling fluid flow induced by the motion of pulmonary cilia Aimed at undergraduate mathematics faculty and advanced undergraduate students, this unique guide will be a valuable resource for generating fruitful research collaborations between students and faculty.

Mathematics research opportunities for undergraduate students have grown significantly in recent years, but accessible research topics for first- and second-year students with minimal experience beyond high school mathematics are still hard to find. To address this need, this volume provides beginning students with specific research projects and the tools required to tackle them. Most of these projects are accessible to students who have not yet taken Calculus, but students who know some Calculus will find plenty to do here as well. Chapters are self-contained, presenting projects students can pursue, along with essential background material and suggestions for further reading. Suggested prerequisites are noted at the beginning of each chapter. Some topics covered include: games on graphs modeling of biological systems mosaics and virtual knots mathematics for sustainable humanity mathematical epidemiology Mathematics Research for the Beginning Student, Volume 1 will appeal to undergraduate students at two- and four-year colleges who are interested in pursuing mathematics research projects. Faculty members interested in serving as advisors to these students will find ideas and guidance as well. This volume will also be of interest to advanced high school students interested in exploring mathematics research for the first time. A separate volume with research projects for students who have already studied calculus is also available.

Mathematics research opportunities for undergraduate students have grown significantly in recent years, but accessible research topics for first- and second-year students are still hard to find. To address this need, this volume provides beginning students who have already had some exposure to calculus with specific research projects and the tools required to tackle them. Chapters are self-contained, presenting projects students can pursue, along with essential background material and suggestions for further reading. In addition to calculus, some of the later chapters require prerequisites such as linear algebra and statistics. Suggested prerequisites are noted at the beginning of each chapter. Some topics covered include: lattice walks in the plane statistical modeling of survival data building blocks and geometry modeling of weather and climate change mathematics of risk and insurance Mathematics Research for the Beginning Student, Volume 2 will appeal to undergraduate students at two- and four-year colleges who are interested in pursuing mathematics research projects. Faculty members interested in serving as advisors to these students will find ideas and guidance as well. This volume will also be of interest to advanced high school students interested in exploring mathematics research for the first time. A separate volume with research projects for students who have not yet studied calculus is also available.

“The US National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program in mathematics is now 25 years old, and it is a good time to think about what it has achieved, how it has changed, and where this idea will go next.”This was the premise of the conference held at Mt. Holyoke College during 21-22 June, 2013, and this circle of ideas is brought forward in this volume. The conference brought together diverse points of view, from NSF administrators, leaders of university-wide honors programs, to faculty who had led REUs, recent PhDs who are expected to lead them soon, and students currently in an REU themselves. The conversation was so varied that it justifies a book-length attempt to capture all that was suggested, reported, and said. Among the contributors are Ravi Vakil (Stanford), Haynes Miller (MIT), and Carlos Castillo-Chavez (Arizona, President's Obama Committee on the National Medal of Science 2010-2012).This book should serve not only as a collection of speakers' notes, but also as a source book for anyone interested in teaching mathematics and in the possibility of incorporating research-like experiences in mathematics classes at any level, as well as designing research experiences for undergraduates outside of the classroom.

A Mathematician's Practical Guide to Mentoring Undergraduate Research is a complete how-to manual on starting an undergraduate research program. Readers will find advice on setting appropriate problems, directing student progress, managing group dynamics, obtaining external funding, publishing student results, and a myriad of other relevant issues. The authors have decades of experience and have accumulated knowledge that other mathematicians will find extremely useful.

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