The main objective of the MSRI-UP is to identify mathematically talented students, especially those from underrepresented groups, and to make available to them meaningful research opportunities, necessary skills and knowledge to participate in successful collaborations, and a community of academic peers and mentors who can advise, encourage and support them through a successful graduate program. During the summer, students will participate in a two-week workshop followed by a four-week research phase during which they will work in teams to complete an undergraduate research project. The students will be led by a research director, a post-doc and two graduate student assistants. Students will write a research paper and make a presentation at MSRI on their research. Students also will attend MSRI-UP colloquia as well as other events at MSRI; these include other colloquia and gatherings with graduate students in residence at MSRI. After the summer, students will present their work in poster sessions at conferences such as the Joint Mathematics Meetings and the annual meeting of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS).
A gender-balanced group will be recruited from the entire U.S. and its territories. Significant efforts will be made to recruit Black, Hispanic/Latino, and Native American students. In 2007, the first year of MSRI-UP, almost all of the program?s twelve students were from these ethnic groups and the gender distribution was even. MSRI-UP will produce new mathematical research in the areas of experimental mathematics, coding theory and other mathematical fields. In addition, the fact that this REU will be held at one of the leading mathematics research centers in the country may motivate/inspire other NSF-funded research centers to develop similar undergraduate programs using the MSRI-UP model.
