Vertical Integration of Research and Education in the Mathematical Sciences - VIGRE: Research Focus Groups in Mathematics

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DMS-0135345PI: Bruno L. Nachtergaele, UC DavisTitle: Research Focus Groups in MathematicsAbstractThe UCDavis VIGRE project offers a range of activities designed to integrate the excitement of research mathematics into every facet of its undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral programs. To accomplish this, the investigators and their colleagues are running up to four Research Focus Groups as a means to coordinate the activities in four research areas. Each Research Focus Group includes regular faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduates. The areas of research of the Groups vary from year to year, depending on the interests and expertise of the faculty and graduate students. Initial proposals include: 1) Geometry and Topology, including Computational Aspects; 2) Dynamics of Classical and Quantum Many-Body Systems; 3) Mathematical Biology, including Protein Structure and Function, Biofluid Mechanics, and Spatial Models in Ecology; 4) Discrete Mathematics, including Algebraic and Geometric Combinatorics and Stochastic Discrete Optimization. The Research Focus Group activities include a research seminar, a reading seminar, research projects, and outreach programs. An internship program has also been set up as part of the project.Among the goals of the Research Focus Groups are to introduce undergraduates to mathematical research, to provide a mechanism for graduate students to interact closely with faculty and postdoctoral fellows early in their graduate careers, and to give postdoctoral fellows an opportunity to learn leadership skills necessary to a successful mathematical career. The Research Focus Groups offer participants direct involvement in active areas of research of great current interest. This allows beginning students to focus on a promising career path in mathematics early on, and creates an environment where they can be more effectively prepared for such careers. The VIGRE project and the ResearchFocus Groups also serve as a focus of new initiatives in graduate recruitment. Feedback from Research Focus Groups and internship participants is used to revise the mathematics undergraduate and graduate programs at UC Davis.