CSUMS: Development of an Ongoing Program of Undergraduate Computational Mathematics Research

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SauerDMS-0639300 Computational mathematics plays a critical role in theinfrastructure of modern science. To foster the development ofcomputational and mathematical science skills, in this CSUMSproject the investigator and his colleagues establish an ongoingprogram of undergraduate research at George Mason University. The program involves selected talented undergraduates in severaloverlapping research opportunities that share a reliance oncomputational mathematics. Undergraduate mathematics majors workwith established professors on timely problems of computationalmathematics with immediate applications in materials science,astronomy, space weather, dynamical systems modeling, biophysics,neuroscience, financial mathematics, statistics, and fluiddynamics. The five co-investigators on the project, from theDepartment of Mathematical Sciences and the Department ofComputational and Data Sciences, are joined by 20 otherprofessors with experience in mentoring high-school andundergraduate students. Each CSUMS cohort works together in acentral knowledge core class, to rotate from year to year, andshortly thereafter specializes to one of several particularresearch projects related to the core. Students are supervisedby tenured/tenure track faculty and produce a poster and awritten thesis describing their research by the end of the year. This project addresses the important need to inspire andeducate the next generation of computational scientists. Due tothe heavy reliance of contemporary science on computationalmodeling, experts in computational mathematics will be necessaryfor the advancement of science in the U.S. This project assistsin the creation of well-trained computational mathematicians byinvolving today's mathematics majors in significant appliedresearch at the undergraduate level. Research experiences makethem more likely to succeed at the graduate level, in thecompletion of advanced degrees in computational areas. The CSUMSprogram at George Mason University exposes the student tointeresting, computationally accessible research problems incritical competitiveness areas, including materials science,computational fluid dynamics, financial mathematics, and severalother areas in the biological and physical sciences. Additionally, the program educates students about the value ofcomputational skills while they are still formulating theircareer directions. The project is supported by the MPS Divisionof Mathematical Sciences, the MPS Office of MultidisciplinaryActivities, and the EHR Division of Undergraduate Education.