This project will improve and extend the facilities of the Mathematical Modeling Laboratory in Virginia Tech's Mathematics Emporium to provide the capability to produce, monitor, transmit, and display experimental results as an integral part of a mathematical modeling component in the undergraduate mathematics curriculum. The equipment will also provide the capability to produce high quality web-based products featuring streamed video and data sets that can be downloaded and analyzed by computer. This will be the primary means for making the experiments available to large groups of students at Virginia Tech and other institutions. The new equipment will enable a series of three expanding circles of students to work with mathematically and scientifically rich experiments. The first and smallest circle will participate in hands-on experimentation in the Mathematical Modeling Laboratory. A second and larger circle will participate in a "live" demonstration in the Emporium's 100 seat presentation room. The largest circle will participate asynchronously via videotapes and the World Wide Web or synchronously using videoconferencing equipment and networked computers. Experiments will be designed to be used as modules in a wide range of large enrollment undergraduate courses: Sophomore-level Ordinary Differential Equations, Junior-level Modern Algebra, Senior-level courses in Dynamically Systems and Chaos, Partial Differential Equations, Operational Methods for Engineers, Numerical Methods for Engineers. We request experimental/visualization equipment for: Vibration analysis of mass-spring systems, pendulums, strings, beams, plates, and membranes, Visualization of group theoretic concepts, Fluid-flow and mixing problems.
