Conference on Trends in Undergraduate Research in the Mathematical Sciences

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The Trends in Undergraduate Research in Mathematical Sciences conference to be held in October 2012 in Chicago, Illinois will invite faculty and graduate students to address several issues pertinent to undergraduate research in the mathematical sciences. They will explore the following topics: (1) student demand for undergraduate research that is not being met; (2) strategies for creating undergraduate research opportunities for all mathematics majors; (3) opportunities for undergraduate research during the academic year; (4) competition between disciplines for funding to support undergraduate research in mathematics; and (5) the role of undergraduate research in tenure and promotion decisions at different institutions - an issue that is essential to getting junior faculty involved.This award supports the participation of 30 junior faculty and graduate students in the conference, who will benefit from networking with more experienced faculty. We will hold a session for junior faculty that provides advice when applying for an REU grant. The conference program will include a panel session for graduate students on how they can best serve as mentors to undergraduate researchers. Some REU programs have graduate student mentors, and we will present best practices from these programs.A conference webpage (e.g., www.maa.org/turms) will be developed where conference details and announcements can be found. After the conference, summaries of outcomes of panel and break-out sessions will be posted. In addition the website will include an electronic copy of the conference proceedings, which will be published as a special issue of the journal Involve, and will be available to everyone free of charge.