REU Site: Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, and Statistics Research Experience for Undergraduates (MAPS-REU)

University Of Maryland, College Park, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

This grant will fund the Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, and Statistics Research Experience for Undergraduates (MAPS-REU), organized by the Department of Mathematics at the University of Maryland, College Park. For eight weeks during each of the summers of 2014, 2015, and 2016, four different projects will be offered. For each project, specific questions and research tasks will be posed and isolated for in-depth study; and the principal investigators will guide the students to experimentally explore these questions and tasks. The PIs will lead the students to use their experimental findings to formulate conjectures and attempt to rigorously prove them. There will be projects in algebra/number theory, applied harmonic analysis, chaotic dynamics, geometry, mathematical biology, probability and random processes, quantum dynamics, and statistics. Each year and for each of the four projects, a faculty member will engage two to three students in one or more problems in one of the areas mentioned above. The lead faculty (group leader) will introduce necessary background on his/her projects, will pose specific questions, will isolate problems, and/or will formulate numerical experiments for the students. The group leader will schedule two to three weekly meetings with each student of his/her group. To help mentor and maintain direct contact with the REU students, a post-candidacy graduate student will be assigned to each group. The role of the graduate student will be to maintain direct contact with the REU students through daily meetings and further mentoring. REU students will be asked to give regular oral presentations on their work or on background material of common interest. This program will also feature a written component: students will create handouts to supplement their presentations, as well as a summary of their results at the end of the project. In addition, the students will be introduced to searching mathematics literature using various platforms. The program will close with a final presentation by each REU student. The MAPS-REU students will deliver their final report to both the lead faculty as well as to the PI and the co-PI, and these reports will be made available on the program website. The students will also have opportunities to present their findings at various mathematical meetings. In addition, results from the MAPS-REU will be published in mathematics journals.