UA VIGRE: Arizona Summer Program

Overview

The goal of the Arizona Summer Program in the Mathematical Sciences at the University of Arizona is to help build a multi-institutional and multi-cultural network of regional schools to foster the pipeline of talented students into the mathematical sciences professions. The program will:

• Give undergraduates from diverse backgrounds intense and stimulating research and professional development experiences that will encourage them to attend graduate school, and pursue careers in the mathematical sciences and mathematics education.
• Demonstrate the unity of mathematics, applied mathematics, and mathematics education, as practiced at the University of Arizona and partner institutions, through the projects and activities of the summer program.
• Develop and disseminate best practices in integrating research and education through the participation of faculty from partner institutions.
• Build collaborations with faculty partners to develop research projects and research experiences for students at their own home institutions through joint proposal writing and other cooperative ventures.

These goals will be achieved by drawing on the many unique components of the mathematical sciences in the Southwest and at the University of Arizona including disciplinary and interdisciplinary research groups, laboratories, and education and outreach programs. Each summer a carefully designed, thematically based, research training program will be offered by a University of Arizona faculty team in partnership with faculty from participating institutions, as well as local graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.

A typical summer program will run from four to five weeks over the month of July during Arizona's spectacular summer monsoon season. This time-window allows students from schools on both the semester and quarter systems to attend. Students from around the country, and especially the Southwest, are invited to apply. Acceptance into the summer program will be based on academic criteria, and the student participants will be paid a stipend and living allowance.

The scientific program will be complemented by ancillary activities reflective of the rich and diverse culture of the Southwestern United States, as well the wealth of scientific and educational activities in the region. For example, trips will be arranged to such local attractions as Kitt Peak Observatory, the Desert Museum, and Kartchner Caverns; and program participants will have opportunities to learn more about the Mathematics Department's outreach and teacher training activities, and to visit some of the University of Arizona's unique research facilities and laboratories.

Upcoming programs

The 2010 Arizona Summer Program will be on Geometry.

Previous programs

The 2009 Arizona Summer Program will be on Computational Photonics.

The 2008 Arizona Summer Program was on Computational Group Theory.

The 2007 Arizona Summer Program was on Mathematical Modelling.