Undergraduates from U.S. Universities Conduct Advanced Math Research at Rutgers Summer Institute: Selected students continue studies at Czech Republic university in August
July 19, 2005
NEW BRUNSWICK/PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Undergraduate students from universities around the nation are getting a taste for graduate and professional mathematics and computer science research at a summer institute held at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
The 24 students are participating in an eight-week on-campus program through July, where they work one-on-one with math and computer science professors to learn the research process and understand how it helps advance social issues and solve technological challenges. Five of these students will continue their research into August at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, the site of DIMATIA, a noted European mathematics institute.
Three students from Charles University have traveled to the United States to participate in the Rutgers program.
Sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Rutgers program is in its 14th year of providing research experiences to students who are typically mathematics and computer science majors entering their senior year. It is run by the university’s mathematics department and Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science (DIMACS), an NSF-supported science and technology center partnering with industrial laboratories and other universities.
“Mathematics underpins all aspects of science and technology, from sequencing DNA to strengthening homeland security,” said Brenda Latka, associate director of DIMACS. “By doing research to create new mathematical techniques, we help scientists and engineers advance their fields. Our program aims to show young students how math and computer science research is done and give them the skills they need to succeed in graduate school and professional careers.”
A notable project from last year’s institute was the creation of a computer process to identify the author of an anonymous piece of writing. Two students looked at 12 Federalist Papers published in 1787 and 1788 under a pseudonym, but known to be penned by either James Madison or Alexander Hamilton. Nearly two centuries later, analysts pegged the works to Madison, but only after tedious manual analysis. The summer students and their Rutgers mentor tried a new approach: Using simple statistical techniques to classify several writing characteristics, they achieved identification much faster. This year, two students are extending this technique to confirm authorship of science journal articles. Techniques like this could help authenticate terrorist threats or validate e-mail authorship in civil and criminal proceedings.
“We get students who are highly proficient at problem solving and computer programming, but before they joined our program, they didn’t really understand what it meant to do research in mathematics and computer science,” Latka said. “Not only do we guide them in picking a topic, we also coach them in the essential work of communicating their results – writing a research paper, delivering a seminar talk, designing a compelling Web page. They present their results to Rutgers faculty and visiting professors from universities around the world.”
The students also take field trips to industrial labs such as Telcordia and IBM, and participate in group cultural and social activities.
Contact: Carl Blesch
732-932-7084, ext. 616
E-mail: cblesch@ur.rutgers.edu