REU Site: Seattle University Mathematics Early Research (SUMmER)

Seattle University, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

The Department of Mathematics at Seattle University will host the Seattle University Mathematics Early Research (SUMmER) REU site. Ten students will participate in an eight-week summer research program each year. The students will work in groups of five on one of two major research projects each summer. Each research group will be led by a pair of mentors who will meet regularly with the students to provide guidance and feedback. The SUMmER program will encourage non-traditional, early career students to consider majors and careers in STEM fields. The research projects will not require significant course experience so that research opportunities are made available to students from community colleges and primarily undergraduate institutions. The diverse body of student participants will be reflected in the faculty leadership as well. In addition to having experienced faculty researchers from Seattle University and Pacific Lutheran University, groups will be led by instructors from local community colleges and high schools. Each project will be led by two mentors in a team consisting of a less experienced research mentor and a more experienced mentor. As such, this program will have the added benefit of training less experienced mentors to lead research groups at their home institutions. The primary goal of this REU is to empower student researchers who do not have access to research at their home institutions by providing a community of support that will stretch beyond the eight-week duration of the summer program. Students will investigate original research problems in the areas of Combinatorics, Graph Theory, Knot Theory, or Geometry. In addition to developing their technical mathematical skills, students will gain experience in presenting their work through both oral and written communication. They will give regular presentations to the group to share their research progress, and the research mentors will support students as they prepare to present their work at conferences or at their home institutions after the REU program has ended. Both research and communication skills will be invaluable to the participants as they become part of the mathematical community.