RTG: Building Communities in the Mathematical Sciences at Rice University

William Marsh Rice University, Houston TX

Investigators

Abstract

The aim of this Research Training Group project "RTG: Building Communities in the Mathematical Sciences at Rice University" is to continue, enhance, broaden and diversify the core ideas and values that were articulated by its founder Edgar Odell Lovett; namely that it be a, "school of the highest grade looking, in its educational programme, as much to investigation as to instruction." In the context of the Mathematics Department, and more precisely, this Research Training Group project, the Principal Investigators (who have a broad expertise in Geometry and its connections with Analysis and Partial Differential Equations, Geometric Analysis, Geometric Topology, and Algebraic Number Theory) together with other faculty members, postdocs, graduate and undergraduate students intend to focus on building communities which will impact, at all stages of the academic pipeline, the number and readiness of people entering the U.S. mathematical workforce (both academic and industrial), and bolstering in particular the representation of women and underrepresented minorities in the mathematical sciences. Moreover, structures put in place will see a vertical community of women mathematicians, a vertical community of mathematicians from low-income households and underrepresented minority groups, a community of young scholars who will pursue research careers in industry, and a horizontal community of strong junior and senior math majors. The RTG Senior Faculty will use their research expertise and previous experience to mentor research of junior mathematicians centered on Geometry. Reflecting the strongly collaborative relationship of the team, contributions will come from perspectives not only within but also across the disciplines of Analysis and PDE, Geometric Analysis, Geometric Topology, Algebraic Geometry and Algebraic Number Theory. To that end, vertical integration of postdocs and students will allow collaborative research projects, and this will be aided by developing an expository writing seminar in the mathematical sciences for freshmen as an alternative entry point into mathematical thinking, as well as organize conferences of RTG programs to share ideas, the highlights of which will be stored in a public written record. The log-cabin conferences and undergraduate conferences will give participants the opportunity to disseminate their research and grow collaborative networks. There will be opportunities for summer internships in local industries. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.