Collaborative Research: CSUMS: URGE to Compute

Ringland DMS-0802994 Carbonara DMS-0802964 Purchase to Compute为每年12名数学专业本科生提供为期一年的数学科学计算密集型本科生研究小组体验。该项目由布法罗大学(UB)、布法罗州立大学(BSC)和豪普特曼-伍德沃德医学研究所合作，汇集了一个由16名教员组成的跨学科研究小组，他们都意识到计算在数学科学中的重要性，有成功指导本科生研究的记录，并致力于提高UB和BSC学生为研究生教育和许多领域的职业做准备的有效性，这些领域现在需要计算和数学技能的结合。在开始全年的研究体验之前，学生们学习微积分、微分方程、线性代数，以及一门新的科学和数学计算二年级课程，该课程是为考虑到这一项目而开发的，面向所有数学专业的学生。特别努力招募在数学科学领域任职人数不足的少数群体和妇女。研究年在学生大三的春季学期开始：提供主题背景的支持课程，统一当年的所有研究项目(例如2009年的随机过程)；关于计算研究的工具和方法的团队课程；与研究项目导师的定期会议；以及全年研讨会的第一部分。研究持续了整个夏天，学生们写了一篇荣誉论文或一篇论文，准备在秋季发表。学生可以使用的计算资源包括一个2000节点的集群和华盛顿大学计算研究中心的虚拟实验室。杰出的外部研究人员的演讲是研讨会的一个特点，学生们参加与他们的研究相关的领域的全国会议，在地区会议和地方本科生奖学金展览上传播他们的成果，并参加当地高中的外联活动。一年结束后，在他们本科的最后一个学期，受过新训练的学生担任微分方程式入门课程的助教，所有的数学、工程和理科学生都会选修这门课程。在该项目的多年过程中，研究集中在各种具有社会重要性的主题上。这些领域包括光纤通信、农业病虫害防治、密码学、医学成像以及生物材料的行为(从半导体设备到泥石流)。该项目不仅在这些重要领域培训了精选的年度队列，而且还覆盖了密歇根大学和BSC所有数学专业的相当一部分学生，其课程在计算上得到了丰富，因为项目的准备和支持课程，以及通过研讨会和接触从事研究的同行而得到改善的部分生活。该项目得到了MPS数学科学部、MPS多学科活动办公室和EHR本科生教育司的支持。

RinglandDMS-0802994CarbonaraDMS-0802964 URGE to Compute provides a year-long computationallyintensive Undergraduate Research Group Experience in themathematical sciences to an annual cohort of 12 undergraduatemathematics majors. A collaboration of the University at Buffalo(UB), Buffalo State College (BSC), and the Hauptman-WoodwardMedical Research Institute, the project brings together aninterdisciplinary group of 16 faculty researchers who have ashared sense of the importance of computation in the mathematicalsciences, a record of successful supervision of undergraduateresearch, and a commitment to increasing the effectiveness of thepreparation of students at UB and BSC for post-graduate educationand careers in the many fields that now demand a combination ofcomputational and mathematical skills. Prior to commencing thefull-year research experience, students take calculus,differential equations, linear algebra, and a new sophomorecourse in scientific and mathematical computing which wasdeveloped with this project in mind and is offered to all mathmajors. Special efforts are made to recruit minorities andwomen, who are underrepresented in the mathematical sciences. The year of research begins in the Spring semester of thestudents' junior year with: a support course that providesbackground on the theme that unifies all the research projectsfor that year (e.g. stochastic processes in 2009); a team-taughtcourse on the tools and methods of computational research;regular meetings with the research project mentor; and the firstpart of a seminar that runs throughout the year. Researchcontinues through the summer, and students write an honors thesisor a paper for publication in the Fall. Computational resourcesavailable to the students include a 2000-node cluster and avisualization laboratory at UB's Center for ComputationalResearch. Talks by eminent outside researchers are a feature ofthe seminar, and students attend a national conference in an arearelated to their research, disseminate their results at regionalmeetings and local exhibitions of undergraduate scholarship, andparticipate in outreach activities at local high schools. Afterthe year is over, in their final undergraduate semester, the nowhighly trained students serve as teaching assistants in theintroductory differential equations course that is taken by allmathematics, engineering, and science students. Over the multi-year course of the project, the researchfocuses on a wide variety of topics of societal importance. These include optical fiber communications, agricultural pestcontrol, cryptography, medical imaging, and the behavior ofmaterials (from semiconductor devices to mudflows). The projectnot only trains a select annual cohort in these vital areas, butalso reaches a substantial fraction of all math majors at UB andBSC with a curriculum that is computationally enriched by thepreparation and support courses for the project, and adepartmental life that is enhanced by the seminars and theexposure to peers engaged in research. The project is supportedby the MPS Division of Mathematical Sciences, the MPS Office ofMultidisciplinary Activities, and the EHR Division ofUndergraduate Education.