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News
Fri, May 12, 2000
Congratulations UR seniors!
Graduation ceremonies this weekend
The following students have informed me that they will attend a mathematics REU this summer:
Ben Chan will also be attending the PSU mathematics semester (MASS) in the fall.
These students are attending physics REUs
- Dan Berdine '03 -- University of Rochester
- Han Gil Yoo '02 -- Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
- Andrew Blechman '01 -- University of Rochester
- Brian Goss '02 -- University of Buffalo
(At least one other student is attending a physics REU.)
New SUMS officers
The new officers for SUMS for 2000-2001 are:
I'll update this page from time to time over the summer, so keep checking back.
Wed, Apr 19, 2000
S.U.M.S lecture: Invariants of 2 x 2-Matrices
Larry Smith, Gottingen and Yale University
Monday, April 24 at 4:45-5:45PM
Hylan 1101
So you think you know all about two by two matrices! :-)
Are there any invariants besides trace and determinant? What happens if you use arithmetic mod 5?
This should be an interesting talk.
For more information:
Invariants of 2 x 2-Matrices
Wed, Apr 5, 2000
The time, date and place of the SUMS lecture has been CHANGED!.
Here is the correct information:
S.U.M.S lecture: Euler and the Riemann Hypothesis
Prof. Gary Towsley, SUNY at Geneseo
7:30 PM, Thursday, April 6
Room 101, Hylan
Pizza at 7PM (I believe) in the Math Lounge -- 9th floor of Hylan
For more information see
Euler and the Riemann Hypothesis
Despite the late notice and last minute time change, I hope that many of you will be able to come hear Gary speak. I'm sure you'll enjoy it!
Mon, Mar 13, 2000
Welcome back. I hope you all enjoyed the break.
Most of the deadlines for applying to REU's are now past and you should be hearing about acceptances within the next month if not sooner. There are still a couple that have April 1 or later deadlines. Please let me (gage@math.rochester.edu) know about your experiences, positive and negative, in applying to various REU's, and any advice you would like to pass on.
I would like to organize this information and make it available for those who apply next year. Thanks.
The speaker schedule for SUMS is going into high gear this week. First up, Thursday evening
at 7PM in Hylan 202 is
Matt Coppenbarger, who will talk on The Principle of Parity in Analyzing Puzzles. Matt has built many interesting puzzles himself. No particular mathematical
knowledge is required to enjoy this talk -- invite your friends.
On Friday from 3 to 4PM in Hylan 1106B, Prof. Tom Rishel from Cornell University will talk on Curricular Questions: When Changing One Thing Changes Everything including his experiences using writing in mathematics courses.
This is a topic of current interest to us since the mathematics department is in the process of designing mechanisms (courses or add ons to courses) which can be used to fulfill the upper level writing requirement. The topic should also interest SUMS members, math majors and minors. Their opinions and suggestions would be helpful in making the means for satisfying the writing requirement useful and productive.
There will be tea after the talk in the Math Lounge (4PM to 5PM), to which everyone is invited.
Sat, Feb 12, 2000
The deadlines for some of the summer REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) start this next
week ( others are as late as April 1), but if you are at all interested you should get busy. With online
applications and e-mail it's pretty quick and easy. Since each program is small, it is probably a good idea to apply to more than one program.
I would greatly appreciate it if those of you who have applied or or plan to apply REU's or other summer programs would send me a very short e-mail (gage@math.rochester.edu), letting me know which programs you are applying to. Later I would like to know what your experiences were with the application process. I'm trying to gather information that will be useful for students next year.
I found a very nice article on REU's from the February 1998 issue of Math Horizons. (There may still be a copy of this issue in the math lounge.) Here is the link to a Word document version of the article: Is an REU for you? by Deanna Haunsperger and Steve Kennedy. And a link to the Harvard Math club, which reviews REU's regularly.
I've updated the Summer Opportunities page with new links from the NSF for summer REU programs.
In particular http://www.nsf.gov/mps/dms/reulist.htm now has the REU list for the summer of 2000.
There are two semester long programs which 1st and 2nd year students should think about these as they plan there next few years at the university.
The first is a semester of intensive math at Penn State University, Penn State MASS, which can be combined with the summer Penn State REU.
The second is a "Semester Abroad" program in Budapest, Hungary. This may be one of the very few semester abroad programs at the University of Rochester with a science focus. When I was at the annual meeting of the American Math Society in Washington, DC this past January, I met several students who had recently participated in this program. They are VERY enthusiastic about it. To get started, check out the Budapest Semester Abroad Program Home page at St. Olaf's College. Two articles appeared in the April 1999 Math Horizons which can be found in the Math Lounge. The deadline for this coming fall semester is April 30, 2000, while the deadline for next spring is November 1, 2000. I have a little more written information in my office.
Start planning early for these programs, since they are both relatively new at the University of Rochester and you will want to arrange transfer of the credits back to the University of Rochester. Let me (gage@math.rochester.edu) know if you are interested in them and I'll try to help smooth out any bureaucratic complications.
Mathematics and art are closely intertwined.
Most everyone knows of Escher
But do you know Helaman Ferguson? 
And finally it's not too soon to start thinking about MAM (Math Awareness Month) 
Mon, Jan 31, 2000
There will be a SUMS meeting Thursday night, February 3, 2000 in the Math lounge
(9th Floor of Hylan).
Greetings once again, math loving folk! I am pleased to announce
that SUMS will be having its first meeting of the spring semester this
coming Thursday, Febrary 4, at 7 pm in the math lounge. There will be lots
of free pizza and soda, and some members who have had some experience
doing the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program will be
available to share their experiences. The meeting will be mostly informal,
so come out, eat some free food, and have some fun! I hope to see you all
there! -Davis Doherty, SUMS president
The REU deadlines are coming up quickly! Here they are:
REU deadlines
- NASA Academy January 31, 2000 EXPIRED
- Duluth REU February 18, 2000
- Cornell_reu February 24, 2000
- quantum chemistry reu February 28, 2000
- Puerto Rico SIMU February 29, 2000 -- (For Chicano/Latino/Hispanic and Native American students)
- Carleton and St. Olaf March 1, 2000 -- for 1st and 2nd year women
- George Washington University March 1, 2000 -- for 3rd year women
- Carnegie Mellon Applied Mathematics Institute March 1, 2000
- Penn State REU March 15, 2000
- Penn State MASS (fall semester program) It's not clear what this deadline is, but many students will apply to attend both the summer program and the fall program.
Here are three more REU's. The first one is at Cornell -- nearly next door:
The next is at Carnegie Mellon at the Center for Nonlinear Analysis
and the last is in Puerto Rico!
- Summer institute in Mathematics (SIMU) in Puerto Rico June 17 - July 31, 2000
- Web: http://cuhwww.upr.clu.edu/~simu/
- Deadline: February 29, 2000
- This one is for Chicanos/latinos/Hispanics and Native Americans from the US, Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories.
- More: Puerto Rico SIMU
There are many more, which I haven't listed, and probably some that I haven't located. If you are interested, you should plan to apply to several to increase the odds of getting into one. (Each REU takes around a dozen, but some REU's don't get many applications -- you never know.) Here are starting links
http://www.maa.org/students/reustuff/pages/REU.html
and http://www.maa.org/students/reustuff/pages/smrpage.html
and Summer Opportunities.
But hurry -- the deadlines are almost all between now and March 15.
Next week I'll tell you about the Fall semester program in Budapest.
Mon, Jan 24, 2000
The deadline for the NASA program is REAL soon. Act fast if you are interested:
 | Deadline: January 31, 2000 |
| Eligibility requirements |
| Enrolled as a junior, senior or early graduate level program (as of May of the program year), |
| Maintaining a B average (minimum) |
| Majoring in engineering, science (physics, chemistry, biology, etc.), math, computer science or other areas of interest to the space program |
| Be a US citizen or permanent resident (as of May of the program year). |
| Summary |
| The intent of this program is to give the selected students a working knowledge of NASA and its programs. The Academy accomplishes this through interactive sessions with leaders within government, industry, and academia and research in NASA's laboratories. The students will discover how NASA and its Field Centers operate, understand the NASA link to the private sector, gain experience in world-class laboratories, participate in a team environment where people work together to accomplish common goals, and build professional bonds among our future leaders. |
I'd like to hear from some of you who have participated in REU's in the past ( in mathematics or other sciences) as well
as similar summer programs. If it's ok with you, I'll post your reports (just a couple of sentences please -- nothing too long) on this site and, if you are willing, I'll post your e-mail address so that other students can contact you for more details about the experience. My e-mail is gage@math.rochester.edu
Here is a pretty ambitious program at Penn State University which can (optionally) be combined with a full semester immersion in mathematics in the Fall semester. This might be very interesting experience indeed for sophomores and juniors deeply interested in mathematics.
| REU at Penn State University ( 6/10/2000 -- 8/6/2000 ) |
| Deadline: March 15, 2000 |
| Summary: |
| In Summer 2000 the Mathematics Department of Pennsylvania State University will host a Research Experiences for Undergraduates site. Support for the site is provided by the National Science Foundation VIGRE grant. Participants will be selected from qualified applicants. We encourage students to apply for both, Summer REU and our MASS program which runs in the Fall semester of each year. Participation in REU followed by MASS provides an opportunity for completing a more substantial long-term research project. |
| The program will run for 7 weeks from June 19 to August 6, 2000 . It will combine learning with research and include |
| Two two-week mini-courses: |
| Dynamical Systems and Applications. |
| Instructor: Mark Levi, Professor of Mathematics |
| The Prime Numbers and Their Properties. |
| Instructor: Robert Vaughan, Professor of Mathematics |
| Weekly seminar run by the program coordinator Misha Guysinsky |
| Research projects |
| Each REU 2000 participant will recieve a stipend of $2,100, reimbursement for room and board totalling $900, and travel reimbursement of as much as $500. |
For students interested in math, but also interested in physics or chemistry there is the following REU on Quantum computing. You may want to tell friends majoring in physics or chemistry about this opportunity in case they don't already know about it.
| Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry at the University of Georgia |
| Deadline: February 28, 2000 |
| Summary |
| When: May 2000-Aug. 2000 for 10-12 weeks |
| Stipend: $4500 for the 10 weeks ($1800/month) |
| $400 travel stipend |
| Applicants must have a genuine interest in computational quantum chemistry. |
| Applicants should have completed their junior year, exception can be made |
| Working knowledge of FORTRAN, C, or C++ programming encouraged |
| Application deadline is Feb. 28, 2000. |
The REU's listed in this news bulletin are pretty high powered, but not every REU is at this level. Many are more accessible and demand less preparation. Do some searching starting with the list of Summer Opportunities and see if there isn't one that you would like to take advantage of. Those of you who have applied or are planning to apply should let me know. I'll try to put you in touch with each other so that your experiences can benefit everyone.
In other news:
Gary Towsley, who got his math Ph.D. at the University of Rochester and now teaches at SUNY, Geneseo, is one of the three national winners of the Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Awards for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics !! Maybe we can get him to come give a SUMS talk??? More at: http://www.maa.org/news/distinguished99.html
Sun, Jan 16, 2000
Here is an example of an REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) at the University of Minnesota in Duluth -- (a great place to visit in the summer.)
| Duluth, University of Minnesota |
| Deadline February 18, 2000 |
| Summary |
| The objective of the program is to provide an opportunity for six carefully selected undergraduate students to learn firsthand the nature of mathematical research. The participants will conduct independent investigations, under the guidance of experienced researchers, on problems in graph theory and combinatorics. |
| Duration: June 12 - August 16, 2000 |
| Stipend: $1500 for the full 10 week period |
| Allowances: Travel up to $500; living expenses $1250 |
| Location: University of Minnesota, Duluth |
| Deadline for applications: February 18, 2000 |
| The program is intended primarily for students whose participation would occur between their sophomore and junior years or junior and senior years. However, others will also be considered. Applicants will be selected on the basis of motivation, scholarly aptitude, and a projection of the likely benefits to the participant. |
Next here are two summer math programs especially for women (1st, 2nd or 3rd year):
| Summer mathematics program for Women undergraduates at Carleton and St. Olaf |
| (first and second year women) |
| Deadline: March 1, 2000 |
| Summary |
| An intensive four-week summer mathematics program for eighteen talented undergraduate women will take place at Carleton and St. Olaf Colleges in Northfield, Minnesota, June 25 - July 23, 2000. The program will be staffed by mathematicians who are active professionals and outstanding teachers. The students will immerse themselves in mathematics, living and working in a supportive community of women scholars (undergraduates, graduates, and post- graduates) who are passionate about learning and doing mathematics. The program's intent is three-fold: to excite these young women about mathematics and mathematical careers, to provide them with the tools they will need to succeed in a mathematical career, and to connect them with a network of fellow female mathematicians. |
| Summer program for Women in Mathematics at George Washington University (juniors) |
| Deadline March 1, 2000 |
| Summary |
| The George Washington University Summer Program for Women in Mathematics (SPWM) is a five-week intensive program for mathematically- talented undergraduate women who are completing their junior year and may be contemplating graduate study in the mathematical sciences. Goals of this program are to communicate an enthusiasm for mathematics, to develop research skills, to cultivate mathematical self-confidence and independence, and to promote success in graduate school. |
I'll post more examples later, meanwhile you can dig for these opportunities yourself starting with
the links listed below.
Sat, Jan 8, 2000
Welcome Back!!
I want to call your attention to the
 Research Experiences for Undergraduates programs.
These summer programs
provide a stipend for living expenses as well as being educational and great fun!
Deadlines are usually in mid-January to early February so check them out now before
the semester gets hectic. They should be of special interest to students in their third
year, but first and second year students can apply as well.
Most of the programs have an e-mail address you can use to ask for
application forms -- sometimes you can apply over the
net!
Many of the descriptions are for last years programs, but most sites
will offer the same thing this year.
The REU programs are funded by the NSF so stipends are only available to citizens and permanent residents of the United States. Non-citizens with alternate funding can still apply. There are also other Summer Opportunities with
different funding which may have stipends available for non-citizens as well.
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