EMSW21-MCTP: A Georgia Tech Plan for Recruiting and Mentoring Undergraduates in Mathematics

Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta GA

Investigators

Abstract

In the GT-MCTP program, we will use two new programs to recruit well prepared High School students into a strong program for training undergraduate Mathematics Majors. The fist program, the only one of its type that we know, High School students take Georgia Tech Calculus 2 and 3 using real-time video-conferencing technology. These students are physically located in their High Schools, while interacting in real-time with a Professor, and his Calculus class, on the Georgia Tech campus. In the second year of this course, 73 students participated in the program at nine different High Schools, and 41 of these chose to matriculate at Georgia Tech. This program is one that can attract a large number of talented Mathematics Majors. The second program is a High School Mathematics Competition, which in its third year drew 300 students from across Georgia, Alabama, and as far away as Virginia. These students compete in a variety of competitions for Scholarships to attend Georgia Tech. This is also an outstanding program to attract talented Mathematics majors. The School of Mathematics at Georgia Tech has a very strong Undergraduate education program at Georgia Tech. In 2007, 30 Bachelor of Sciences were awarded; 12, that is 40%, of these graduates were placed in Group 1 Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics graduate programs across the country. 2007 also marked the doubling of the Mathematics Majors since 1999. To get the majors to this level of accomplishment, the School of Mathematics has a broad commitment to the educational goals of the School; a diverse, and deep, set of course offerings; and important mentoring programs at different points of the curriculum: REUs incorporated into the degree programs; an award-winning Teaching Development Seminar; and active mentoring of the graduate school application process. This proposal calls for the creation of Scholarships to supplement those already being awarded, targeted to the top 5% of the Mathematics Majors, and an REU. The awarding of this grant will acknowledge the high quality of the program at the School of Mathematics, making it easier to build upon the momentum that is already established for this program. The undergraduates involved in this project will be trained in Mathematics at Georgia Tech, which has a diverse course offering, taught at the highest levels from the Calculus to senior level offerings. The REU students will be engaged in research topics that range from Differential Geometry, to modeling fish populations with sophisticated dynamical models. Training the nation's next generation's scientific workforce is a leading mission of Georgia Tech, and the primary focus of this proposal. This proposal will enhance an already very strong program, and train sophisticated students who will continue their studies at the best graduate programs in Science and Engineering across the country.