{"593679":{"#nid":"593679","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Benefits Add Up for Undergrads in School of Mathematics REU Program","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EUndergraduate students stay busy studying for their majors, but they do not always get a chance to work on research projects \u0026ndash; tasks that will dominate their lives if they go to graduate school. So how important is it for undergraduates to get that early shot at research?\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFor Korynn Claiborne, doing undergraduate research is the difference between learning advanced mathematics concepts in a classroom and applying them in real life. \u0026ldquo;This helps so much because you actually see the math at work,\u0026rdquo; says Claiborne, a senior at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.alasu.edu\/index.aspx\u0022\u003EAlabama State University\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EClaiborne is part of the School of Mathematics\u0026rsquo; 2017 \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.math.gatech.edu\/undergraduate-summer-research-program\u0022\u003EResearch Experiences for Undergraduates\u003C\/a\u003E (REU) program. She presented her work during a July 12 poster session with 19 other students. Claiborne says the eight weeks she spent researching her project in the Skiles Classroom Building confirmed her love of math.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThat outcome serves as priceless validation of the program, says School of Mathematics Chair \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cos.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/586736\u0022\u003ERachel Kuske\u003C\/a\u003E. \u0026ldquo;The undergrads get exposed to more open-ended problems and new areas of math,\u0026rdquo; Kuske says. \u0026ldquo;They also learn soft skills important in research. How do you talk about research? How do you work within a group? How is research different from classwork?\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EREU is an eight-week summer program funded by the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/funding\/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5517\u0026amp;org=NSF\u0022\u003ENational Science Foundation\u003C\/a\u003E to give undergraduates a taste of high-level, real-world research.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe 2015 and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cos.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/565081\u0022\u003E2016\u003C\/a\u003E REU classes were funded in partnership with the school\u0026rsquo;s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/impact2math.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EInterdisciplinary Mathematics Preparation and Career Training (IMPACT)\u003C\/a\u003E program, a postdoctoral-training initiative. For the 2017 program, support from the College of Sciences boosted participation, resulting in the largest \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.cos.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/591897\u0022\u003Egroup of students\u003C\/a\u003E in the school\u0026rsquo;s 16-year history of REUs. Students from Georgia Tech and other Georgia colleges, plus universities in Alabama, California, Virginia, Michigan, and Massachusetts took part.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIan Katz had opportunities to work on research while an undergraduate at the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.berkeley.edu\/\u0022\u003EUniversity of California, Berkeley\u003C\/a\u003E, but didn\u0026rsquo;t take them. He found out about Tech\u0026rsquo;s program after an exchange of emails with School of Mathematics Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/people.math.gatech.edu\/~dmargalit7\/index.shtml\u0022\u003EDan Margalit\u003C\/a\u003E and was able to enroll at the last minute. Now Katz says he has a chance to fill the research gaps in his r\u0026eacute;sum\u0026eacute; and focus on starting graduate school at Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I didn\u0026rsquo;t even know what I wanted to do coming into grad school,\u0026rdquo; Katz says. He was interested in topology, the study of shapes and how they can be manipulated without breaking or tearing them. \u0026ldquo;REU gave me a really in-depth idea of what topology is about.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EClaiborne opted to work on the Lorenz system, equations used in atmospheric science prediction and weather modeling. \u0026ldquo;There\u0026rsquo;s a lot of computational mathematics, and that\u0026rsquo;s what I enjoy,\u0026rdquo; she says.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETwo postdoctoral fellows, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/people.math.gatech.edu\/~mcnv3\/\u0022\u003EMichael Northington\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.math.gatech.edu\/people\/andre-souza\u0022\u003EAndre Souza\u003C\/a\u003E, shared their expertise in research and presentation skills with Claiborne. \u0026ldquo;It gives the postdocs good experience in training and mentoring as well, so it helps everybody,\u0026rdquo; Kuske says.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EKuske adds that the program includes a lot of Atlanta-area students, which she is happy to see. She hopes to increase the local talent stream by seeking additional funding, along with more partnerships with local colleges.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s more important these days, when students are applying to graduate school or a job, to be able to say they worked on a research team, or gave a presentation or poster session, or went to this or that conference,\u0026rdquo; Kuske says, \u0026ldquo;Students need a broad range of experiences to pursue whatever careers they choose.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Students get valuable early chances at research, presentation skills"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThis summer\u0026#39;s\u0026nbsp;2017 Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program in the School of Mathematics was the largest yet in terms of enrollment, as 20 students took their first steps toward\u0026nbsp;the level\u0026nbsp;of research work\u0026nbsp;expected of them\u0026nbsp;in graduate school.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A summer program gives School of Math undergrads a shot at high-level research."}],"uid":"34434","created_gmt":"2017-07-24 15:30:37","changed_gmt":"2017-09-01 16:29:49","author":"Renay San Miguel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2017-07-24T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2017-07-24T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"593681":{"id":"593681","type":"image","title":"School of Mathematics Professor and Chair Rachel Kuske","body":null,"created":"1500910410","gmt_created":"2017-07-24 15:33:30","changed":"1500910410","gmt_changed":"2017-07-24 15:33:30","alt":"","file":{"fid":"226318","name":"Rachel Kuske.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Rachel%20Kuske.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Rachel%20Kuske.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":40048,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Rachel%20Kuske.jpg?itok=dJ_WFRSo"}},"593683":{"id":"593683","type":"image","title":"Korynna Claiborne presents her work at a July 12, 2017, poster session for undergraduates doing mathematics research at Georgia Tech. (Photo by Renay San Miguel.)","body":null,"created":"1500910569","gmt_created":"2017-07-24 15:36:09","changed":"1500910569","gmt_changed":"2017-07-24 15:36:09","alt":"","file":{"fid":"226319","name":"Korynn Claiborne.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Korynn%20Claiborne.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Korynn%20Claiborne.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":110105,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Korynn%20Claiborne.JPG?itok=jElo0n0a"}},"593685":{"id":"593685","type":"image","title":"The atrium of Skiles Classroom Building was abuzz on July 12, 2017, during the poster session for participants in the School of Mathematics\u2019 2017 REU program. (Photo by Renay San Miguel.)","body":null,"created":"1500910707","gmt_created":"2017-07-24 15:38:27","changed":"1500910707","gmt_changed":"2017-07-24 15:38:27","alt":"","file":{"fid":"226321","name":"Summer Math REU poster session.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Summer%20Math%20REU%20poster%20session.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Summer%20Math%20REU%20poster%20session.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":102230,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Summer%20Math%20REU%20poster%20session.JPG?itok=gI0m8r6I"}}},"media_ids":["593681","593683","593685"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.math.gatech.edu\/reu-faq","title":"School of Mathematics REU FAQ"},{"url":"https:\/\/www.math.gatech.edu\/past-reu-topics","title":"Partial list of past REU projects"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1279","name":"School of Mathematics"}],"categories":[{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"168854","name":"School of Mathematics"},{"id":"173361","name":"Rachel Kuske"},{"id":"174980","name":"Korynn Claiborne"},{"id":"174981","name":"Ian Katz"},{"id":"1517","name":"REU"},{"id":"172181","name":"Research Experiences for Undergraduates"},{"id":"362","name":"National Science Foundation"},{"id":"14817","name":"topology"},{"id":"174982","name":"Lorenz equations"},{"id":"170196","name":"Dan Margalit"},{"id":"173647","name":"_for_math_site_"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39541","name":"Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERenay San Miguel\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCommunications Officer\/Science Writer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCollege of Sciences\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n404-894-5209\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["renay.san@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}