REU Site: Research Experience for Undergraduates in Industrial Mathematics and Statistics

REU网站：工业数学和统计学本科生的研究经验

• 批准号: 1263127
• 负责人: Suzanne Weekes
• 金额: $ 38.2万
• 依托单位: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-05-01 至 2017-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1263127&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: REU; Site; Research; Experience; Undergraduates

The WPI REU program in Industrial Mathematics and Statistics provides a unique educational experience for students of the mathematical sciences by introducing them to research in an industrial environment. It provides a glimpse of the many career possibilities which are open to students with a strong mathematical background. The students work in teams on problems that come directly from local business and industry. Students work closely with a company representative to define the problem and develop solutions of immediate value to the company. They work closely with a faculty advisor to formulate the problem mathematically and maintain a clear focus on the mathematics at the core of the project. Industrial problems rarely fit into one area of mathematics and this fact is an important part of the research experience. Many projects require some combination of classical analysis, modelling, statistics, optimization, and computer programming. The results from the projects completed in the REU program are of direct importance to the industrial partners and impact research and development at these companies. Further, projects developed for the REU program are modified for use in K-12 mathematics curricula in order to improve student motivation and generate interest in careers in the mathematical sciences.Many mathematics graduates now follow nonacademic career paths. Of the roughly 1200 2010-2011 doctoral recipients in the Mathematical Sciences who have known employment in the U.S., 31.5% of them have taken up employment in business, government, industry, research institutes and other not-for-profits. When one takes out those writing statistics or biostatistics dissertations, one finds that 22% of the new mathematicians are working outside academia. The WPI REU Program in Industrial Mathematics and Statistics aims to expose students to mathematics research that occurs outside of the university setting. It aims to provide challenges to students not faced in standard undergraduate programs and to develop skills not always developed in traditional educational programs, such as (a) communication at several levels, including reading, writing, speaking, and listening; (b) problem formulation as an interactive, evolutionary process; and (c) the ability to work with a diverse team. The WPI REU Program in Industrial Mathematics and Statistics has existed since 1998 and, since that time, we have worked with 167 students who have come from 119 different U.S. colleges in 37 states and Puerto Rico; 45% of the students were female. Only 7 of these 167 students were WPI students. Of the 119 universities that have been represented at the REU program over the last 15 years, 50% of them do not offer graduate degrees in mathematics. We have worked on 47 different industrial projects sponsored by 23 different companies. Students from the REU program often go on to pursue graduate degrees in mathematics and in other fields, and they also pursue careers in finance and industry.

工业数学和统计的WPI REU项目通过引入他们在工业环境中的研究，为数学科学的学生提供了独特的教育体验。它提供了一个对具有强大数学背景的学生开放的许多职业机会的一瞥。学生们以小组形式解决直接来自当地商业和工业的问题。学生与公司代表密切合作，以确定问题并制定对公司有直接价值的解决方案。他们与一名教师导师密切合作，以数学的方式表述问题，并将重点明确地放在项目的核心数学上。工业问题很少适合于一个数学领域，而这一事实是研究经验的重要组成部分。许多项目需要经典分析、建模、统计、优化和计算机编程的某种组合。在REU计划中完成的项目的结果对工业合作伙伴直接重要，并影响这些公司的研发。此外，为REU项目开发的项目被修改为用于K-12数学课程，以提高学生的动机并激发对数学科学职业的兴趣。许多数学毕业生现在走上了非学术职业道路。在大约1200名2010-2011年度数学科学专业的博士获得者中，有31.5%的人在商业、政府、工业、研究机构和其他非营利性组织工作。当你剔除那些撰写统计学或生物统计学论文的人时，你会发现22%的新数学家都在学术界以外工作。WPI REU工业数学和统计项目旨在让学生接触到大学以外的数学研究。它旨在为学生提供在标准本科课程中没有遇到的挑战，并发展在传统教育课程中不总是发展的技能，例如(A)在几个层面上的沟通，包括阅读、写作、口语和听力；(B)作为一个互动的、进化的过程的问题表达；以及(C)与不同团队合作的能力。WPI REU工业数学和统计项目自1998年开始实施，从那时起，我们与来自37个州和波多黎各的119所不同美国大学的167名学生进行了合作；45%的学生是女性。在这167名学生中，只有7名是WPI学生。在过去15年来参加REU项目的119所大学中，50%的大学没有提供数学研究生学位。我们参与了由23家不同公司赞助的47个不同的工业项目。REU项目的学生通常继续攻读数学和其他领域的研究生学位，他们还会在金融和工业领域寻求职业生涯。