IAS/Park City Mathematics Institute

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This proposal is submitted to the Divisions of Mathematical Sciences and Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education, seeking partial support for the IAS/Park City Mathematics Institute (PCMI). Support for the Research Program, the Graduate Summer School, the Undergraduate Summer School, and the Mentoring Program for Women in Mathematics is requested for five years, beginning in 1999. Partial support for the High School Teachers Program is sought for two years. Support for the remaining programs will be found from other sources.The IAS/Park City Mathematics Institute (PCMI) is a program of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. The mission of the PCMI is to promote research in both mathematics and mathematics education, and to improve mathematics education at every level from K-12 through graduate school. It is built on the premise that dynamic interaction among mathematicians, educators, and students is essential to the optimal functioning of the mathematical enterprise. It has eight years of experience in promoting this goal, supported in major part by the National Science Foundation. Sponsorship by the Institute for Advanced Study reflects the Institute's commitment to extend the activities of the research community toward such broader societal goals.The activities of the PCMI include a three-week Summer Session for all participants, a year-round program for local high school teachers site groups, a Mentoring Program for Women in Mathematics, and a ContinuingOutreach Program for Alumni Sites of high school teachers.The primary focus of the PCMI is the three-week Summer Session, where participants gather to share information and experiences at many levels. The Summer Session is organized around a Research Topic that provides the academic focus for all programs. In 1999 the Research Topic will be Arithmetic Algebraic Geometry.The Summer Session includes six programs: the Undergraduate Summer School, the Graduate Summer School, the Research Program in Mathematics, the High School Teacher Program, the Undergraduate Faculty Program, and the Research Program in Mathematics Education. The presence of all of the programs in one place and at one time gives the whole enterprise a high spirit that is often lacking when one of these groups meets by itself. For example, the educational programs provide a subject for animated conversations involving everyone. This leads to more informality and casual interaction, breaking barriers between advanced researchers, fresh PhDs, students, and high school teachers. This kind of interaction has the expected payoff in terms of felicitous exchange of ideas and the beginnings of collaborations. The whole of the Summer Session is far greater than the sum of its parts.