Vertical Integration of Research and Education in Applied Mathematics

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9810751 Meiss The Department of Applied Mathematics of the University of Colorado at Boulder's VIGRE program is focussed in the areas of computational and nonlinear mathematics. The program creates tetrahedral research groups consisting of a faculty mentor, a postdoctoral fellow, several graduate students, and undergraduate majors. Tetrahedra will focus on particular interdisciplinary research problems, hold seminars, write research proposals, and participate in the curriculum reform program. The curriculum will be integrated with computation using multi-layered case study modules. Affiliated faculty serve as co-advisors for Ph.D. theses of our students; the affiliated faculty program will be extended to government laboratories and technology companies. The program will create four tetrahedral groups in the areas of Dynamical Systems, Nonlinear Waves, Multilevel Computation, and Fast Algorithms and Modeling. The four facets of interaction within the groups include: teaching--as a seminar, and in the development of case study projects; learning--to develop mathematical, computational, and communication skills; discovering--to develop the techniques for formulation of useful and solvable research problems; and communicating--to collaborate in the joint production of research papers, grant proposals, and interim research reports. Computational mathematics provides the unifying theme for vertical integration of our training program. Computation will be integrated into lower division courses through Case Study Modules. Vertical integration will be implemented through the development of a multi-layered modeling course that has both lower and upper division undergraduate components as well as a graduate component. The VIGRE grant will support four Postdoctoral Fellows. They will receive mentoring from a faculty advisor and teach one course each semester for the Department. Twelve Graduate Trainees will be funded by the proposal. They will participate in the tetrahedra, research pro posal development, and the development and implementation of case study modules and receive teacher training through the Teaching and Learning Seminar and the Graduate Teacher Program. Four Undergraduate Research Experiences will be funded each year. Students will participate in one of the tetrahedra part-time during the academic year and for two months during the summer. These initiatives will be sustainable and lead to a number of permanent structural changes: successful tetrahedral research groups will endure and be emulated, case study modules will form an essential part of our curriculum, and the extended affiliated faculty will result in a continuing option for training of our students in application areas. Funding for this activity will be provided by the Division of Mathematical Sciences and the MPS Office of Multidisciplinary Activities.