Cornell's Summer REU Program in Mathematics (Analysis on fractals, dynamics, geometry, combinatorics, mathematical biology)
Each summer, 10 undergraduate students will participate in an 8 week research program in the Cornell University Mathematics Department directed by 3 faculty members (the Principal Investigator, R. Strichartz, and 2 others chosen from among department members and visitors). The students will work on research projects that are within their grasp, and which present real opportunities for new discoveries that will be of value to the mathematical community. It is expected that some, but not all, of the research will lead to published papers. Two types of projects will be emphasized: 1) computer related research, with students writing programs, or using existing software, to work out examples, generate conjectures, and perform experiments in areas such as analysis on fractals, iterations of rational mappings, dynamics of differential equations, and probabilistic models in genetics; 2) problems in geometry and combinatorics that do not require a great deal of background knowledge. In addition, the students will gain experience in communicating mathematics by presenting talks to each other and to the public.
