REU Site: Youngstown State University Beginning Undergraduates Mathematical Research Preparation

YSU-BUMP (Youngstown State University Beginning Undergraduate Mathematical Research Preparation) is a summer research experience for students who are in their first two years of college and are majoring in mathematics. YSU-BUMP’s design addresses the research literature that identifies the first two years as a critical time for retention of students in mathematics, particularly of female students and those from underrepresented minorities.

Retention and enhanced success are expected as a result of three facets of the experience: an early engagement in a rigorous research project, exposure to a variety of careers in the mathematical sciences, and an intensive and intentional mentoring component. Students will explore possible careers by engaging with a wide variety of speakers who employ higher-level mathematics in their work with industry, government and academia; and who will offer advice regarding pursuing these types of careers.

Mentoring during and after the program and at least through students’ graduation will reinforce the gains made in the participants’ mathematical learning through research, and in their motivation regarding seeking careers in the mathematical sciences.

Research projects for this REU will cover a wide variety of topics. For example, students will learn and employ data analysis tools to visualize gun violence data, then use these visualizations and other work to address questions regarding trends over time, and relative incidence rates by geographical and temporal locations. Participants will also engage with theoretical yet still accessible topics, such as a project in graph theory where they will explore rainbow coloring, a special type of proper vertex coloring, and seek to discover and prove new mathematical results.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.