REU Site: Research Expericences for Undergraduates in Mathematics at Indiana University

This award supports the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site in the Department of Mathematics at Indiana University, Bloomington. Preserving a valued tradition dating back fifty years, the program will offer an intensive summer research experience for talented undergraduates working with some of our internationally recognized faculty on unique projects.

By providing a well-balanced and structured environment together with milestones for both oral exposition and written reports of results, the IU REU lays the groundwork for student success in their projects. Participant success is further encouraged by a preparatory program for necessary background knowledge, the fostering of an intense and collaborative work environment, and most importantly regular working sessions with mentors.

In addition to the abstract problem-solving skills and intellectual stamina gained by the participants, their professional development is enhanced through regular research presentations by faculty members, LaTeX writing workshops, and other similar opportunities.

The Indiana University REU program provides an immersive environment with a strong mentorship-oriented approach to research. Nine students will work one-on-one or in small groups with faculty members, spending eight weeks on IU campus tackling carefully selected research problems. These problems are unsolved, accessible, and mathematically significant.

Topics in pure mathematics are chosen from a broad swath of fields including geometric group theory, differential geometry, combinatorial topology and knot theory, surgery theory, logic, complex and symbolic dynamics, aspects of category theory, and several more. Topics in applied mathematics are drawn from areas in computer science such as recursion theory or homotopy type theory and areas of mathematical biology and chemistry from polymer organization and cell function to phylogenetics.

Housed together in a dormitory and sharing common office space, students benefit from being immersed in mathematics collectively and from the spontaneous collaboration that naturally follows. Students disseminate their findings by delivering presentations at a statewide undergraduate mathematics research conference, giving formal lectures to peers, faculty, and graduate students, and writing a formal self-contained research report detailing their findings.

Some of these reports are expected to develop into peer-reviewed research papers. Ultimately, the program significantly helps prepare participants to be the leaders in today's highly technical workforce, whether in academia or industry.

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.