RE-C^2: Research Experiences in Community Colleges

在努力增加从事数学科学职业的学生数量方面，社区大学经常被忽视。RE-C^2项目将由加州州立大学北岭分校（CSUN）的教师带领社区学院的教师及其选定的学生参与有意义的研究经验。该项目将包括夏季和学年活动。夏季项目将包括介绍性的新兵训练营和演讲嘉宾，以及研究小组的密集工作。在学年期间，学生、社区学院和CSUN教师将继续进行研究活动，并参加研讨会和会议。RE-C^2将从主要来自西班牙裔/拉丁裔地区的学生中识别和招募有才华和积极进取的学生。通过让这些学生参与数学研究，我们希望增加成功转入大学并获得数学科学学士学位的学生的数量和多样性。通过让社区学院的教师和学生都参与研究，RE-C^2有可能积极地改变这些机构数学系的学术氛围。该项目的一个预期的长期成果是，参与的社区学院教师将继续与CSUN教师进行研究合作。RE-C^2将通过做数学科学研究的兴奋和挑战，为社区大学学生提供数学成长的机会。入选的学生在进入课程时将有很强的微积分背景。在课程中，学生将培养从普通课程到独立学习的过渡能力，并获得在大学水平数学中取得成功所必需的逻辑和抽象思维。研究课题包括工业设计中的分形、调度问题的遗传算法、马尔可夫链和赌博策略、数学生物学中的问题、数论和微分几何中的问题。这些主题将为研究项目提供丰富的智力环境，并加强参与学生的数学背景。在项目期间，学生将被鼓励展示他们的研究工作，社区学院的教师将被鼓励继续与CSUN的教师进行研究合作。

Community colleges are often overlooked in efforts to increase the number of students pursuing careers in the mathematical sciences. The RE-C^2 program will engage community college faculty and their selected students in meaningful research experiences led by California State University, Northridge (CSUN) faculty. The program will include both summer and academic year activities. The summer program will include an introductory boot camp and guest speakers, in addition to intensive work in research groups. During the academic year, students and community college and CSUN faculty will continue the research activities and also participate in workshops and conferences. RE-C^2 will identify and recruit talented and highly motivated students from the predominantly Hispanic/Latino area. By involving these students in mathematical research, we expect to increase the number and diversity of students who successfully transfer to universities and receive bachelor's degrees in the mathematical sciences. By engaging both community college faculty and their students in research, RE-C^2 has the potential to positively alter the intellectual atmosphere in the mathematics departments at these institutions. An expected, long-term outcome of this project is that participating community college faculty members will continue their research collaborations with CSUN faculty. RE-C^2 will give community college students the opportunity to grow mathematically through the excitement and challenge of doing research in the mathematical sciences. Selected students will have a strong background in calculus when they enter the program. During the program, students will develop the ability to transition from general coursework to independent study, and acquire the logical and abstract thinking necessary to succeed in university-level mathematics. The research topics include Fractals in Industrial Design, Genetic Algorithms for Scheduling Problems, Markov Chains and Gambling Strategies, Problems Arising from Mathematical Biology, Problems in Number Theory and in Differential Geometry. These topics will provide a rich intellectual environment for the research projects and strengthen the mathematical background of the participating students. During the project, students will be encouraged to present their research work, and community college faculty will be encouraged to continue their research collaborations with CSUN faculty.