Overview
Our past experience in running an REU has shown us that students from schools without a significant undergraduate research program often do not participate in an REU until the summer following their junior year. Up to that point the students have only experienced traditional classroom learning and are often overwhelmed by taking part in a significant research project as part of an REU. The pREU will bridge this gap by providing five students a significant five week summer program aimed at helping them transition from classroom learning. The primary audience for this program will be students that have just finished their freshmen or sophomore year at a school that does not typically provide research experiences for undergraduates. Female and minority students are especially encouraged to apply.
Students will be given a brief overview of the project they are going to work on, but lecturing will be kept to a minimum throughout the program to help students transition away from classroom learning. The projects given will not be designed to lead to publishable results. Instead, they will be designed to expose students to more advanced topics (such as those often found later in the undergraduate curriculum, thus enhancing prerequisite knowledge for REU applications) in the context of intriguing problems that encourage students to work as a team. Hence, the students will be better equipped for an REU in subsequent summers in terms of mathematical knowledge and maturity as well as independent working ability and collaborative skills. The aim of the pREU will be a final project that can be presented back at the student’s home institution.
Funding
Funding is restricted to US citizens or permanent residents. Students will receive a stipend of $3,400, travel reimbursement up to $500, a stipend of $600 for subsistence, and shared accommodations.
2018 Application:
Please apply at https://www.mathprograms.org/db/programs/636. Be sure to choose that you are applying for the pREU and not the REU.
2018 pREU faculty:
2017 Dates:
May 14 – June 15, 2018
2018 Program Description:
This summer students will explore concepts from linear algebra, groups, and finite fields as well as selected topics in algebraic geometry and their application to distributed storage systems. The program is designed to expose students to advanced topics in the context of intriguing problems and projects that encourage students to work as a team. Hence, the students are better equipped for an REU in terms of mathematical knowledge and maturity as well as independent working ability and collaborative skills. Students will collaborate on a final project which will be presented at the summer program as well as at their home institution. Applicants should have just completed their freshman or sophomore year of college.
2018 Participants:
- Austin Allen, Carnegie Mellon University
- Keller Blackwell, University of South Florida
- Olivia Fiol, Vassar College
- Bethany Matsick, Liberty University
- Zoe Nelson, Oglethorpe University