At Carnegie Mellon University, the Department of Statistics and the Department of Mathematical Sciences will build on their complementary strengths to develop a joint, vertically-integrated program of education and research. Responding to national needs, the program will (i) train postdoctoral fellows for careers emphasizing research in settings that require versatility, (ii) aim to recruit and retain U.S. graduate students, avoiding excessive time to complete Ph.D.s while providing students with a high probability of success after graduation, and (iii) help increase the numbers of U.S. undergraduates, including women and minorities, who pursue advanced degrees in mathematical and statistical sciences. The program emphasizes cross-disciplinary research and understanding the needs of learners in a context of disciplinary advancement. Many of the activities grow from two previously-funded Group Infrastructure Grants to our respective departments, and from a very successful Undergraduate Summer Research Institute in Applied Mathematics. For instance, we plan to use the graduate support model from the infrastructure grant to Mathematical Sciences, we will expand the operation of the Summer Institute to include students from Statistics, and we will adapt for Mathematical Sciences some of the postdoctoral mentoring procedures that have worked well in Statistics.
Our evaluation of this training program will assess the following: involvement of undergraduates in meaningful research experiences; its success in producing acceptable average time-to-degree for VIGRE graduate trainees; its effectiveness in expanding the mathematical horizons and career opportunities of students at both the undergraduate and the graduate levels, with particular focus on the graduate program; its effectiveness at the postdoctoral level in preparing VIGRE postdoctoral fellows for careers as professional mathematical scientists; its effectiveness in developing the communications skills of VIGRE participants; the effectiveness of the mentoring of undergraduate students, graduate trainees, and postdoctoral fellows; overall effectiveness of the research teams and other efforts to integrate research and education; the effectiveness of the partnership-in-training between the Departments of Statistics and Mathematical Sciences; and the degree of involvement of women and minorities.
Funding for this award is provided by the Division of Mathematical Sciences and the MPS Directorate's Office of Multidisciplinary Activities.
