The REU Program In Mathematics

News, Notes, Awards

REU students won several awards at the 2009 MathFest in Portland, Oregon. Katherine Varga won an outstanding presentation award from the MAA. Katherine worked with Ana Burgers and Prof. Shelly Smith to study Greater-Than Sudoko. Lisa Moats and Kyle Golembiewski also won an outstanding presentation award from the MAA. They worked with Prof. Jonathan Hodge on the mathematical modeling of cost-conscious voters. Derek Olsen and Rob Castellano won the Janet L. Anderson Prize for Undergraduate Research in Mathematical or Computational Biology. They worked with Prof. Edward Aboufadel on a mathematical analysis of glucose data from type 1 diabetics. This is the fifth year in a row that at least one our talks has won an award at MathFest.

In Madison, WI, at the 2008 MathFest, Emily Marshall and Geoff Patterson won an award for their talk on detecting gerrymandering and producing optimal congressional districts. They worked with Prof. Jon Hodge.

Lunch on a Friday with a speaker

At the 2007 MathFest in San Jose, CA, Hanna Komlos won an award for her talk on dual billiards. She worked with Daniel Gorski and Prof. Filiz Dogru. Katrina Honigs and Vincent Martinez also won an award for their talk on their work on the Hausdorff Metric Geometry. They worked with Prof. Steve Schlicker.

A participant wrote to us: "On that note I want to thank you again for choosing me for the GVSU REU. At my interview for the scholarship they asked me what the pivotal moment in my college career was that made me decide to go to graduate school and I definitely believe that it was attending the REU. Upon returning to school I became much more motivated to get involved in the mathematical community and strive for greatness so again thank you."

At the Student Poster Session at the 2007 Joint Mathematics Meeting in New Orleans, Dan Schultheis and Lisa Morales, who worked with Prof. Steve Schlicker, won an award for their poster "Properties of Segments in the Hausdorff Metric Geometry." Lisa also won the 2007-2008 President's Council Scholarship, which is the most prestigious scholarship at her university.

Dan Schultheis and Lisa Morales

At the 2006 MathFest in Knoxville, Amanda Taylor and Christy Hediger, who worked with Prof. Will Dickinson this summer, won one of the seven MAA awards for their talk "San Gaku and Other Problems in Various Geometries".

A faculty member who wrote a letter of recommendation for one of our REU students wrote to us: "He absolutely loved working with you and your program. He ... felt like your program really worked at helping him prepare to present his work and progress to peers and other faculty. He said the GVSU REU was one of the best experiences he has ever had. From what he said, and how he said it, it was clear to me that he really felt like he was a part of a team this summer and that he still feels connected to the mathematical community. I just wanted to say thank you for mentoring him this summer and continuing to work with him as your team of three submits your results for publication."

Three of the participants in the 2005 REU were recognized at the 2005 MathFest in Albuquerque. Samuel Kolins received one of the "best student talks" awards from the MAA for work he did with Justin From, another 2005 REU participant, and Prof. Matt Boelkins. Also, the Council on Undergraduate Research gave out two awards at MathFest, and both awards went to GVSU REU students: Chantel Blackburn and Alex Zupan received the awards for the best student research talks at the Pi Mu Epsilon and MAA sessions, respectively. They both worked with Prof. Steven Schlicker. Alex was also awarded a Goldwater Scholarship in 2006.

2005 Alum Alex Zupan received Honorable Mention from the National Science Foundation’s prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship Program. He was also named a USA Today All-USA College Academic All-Star, an NCAA Postgraduate Scholar, a Goldwater Scholar, and a Presser Scholar. Alex was the MVP and team captain of the Gustavus Adolphus cross-country team.

Matthew Katschke, one of the participants in the 2004 REU, was recognized at the 2004 MathFest in Providence, Rhode Island for his presentation on research he did with Jodi Simons, another 2004 REU participant. He is pictured with other student researchers, and Benoit Mandelbrot, in the December 2004 issue of Focus. Both students worked with Prof. Will Dickinson.

One of our participants from the 2003 REU, Christopher Bay, has won two awards for his work on the Hausdorff Metric with Prof. Steven Schlicker. Bay was one of a select few students to recieve an award for a presentation at the 2003 MathFest in Boulder, Colorado. He was also one of several students to be recognized for the excellence of his poster at the 2004 Joint Mathematics Meetings in Phoenix, Arizona. In March 2004, Christopher was awarded a Goldwater Scholarship.

Another 2003 participant, Audrey (Powers) Malagon, was also awarded a Goldwater Scholarship.

Lindsey Bromenshenkel from 2003 was awarded a Harold T. Peters Scholarship from Bemidji State University.

An article about the GVSU REU, written by Edward Aboufadel and Steven Schlicker, can be found In the February 2004 issue of Math Horizons.

A participant from the 2002 REU, Lisa Driskell, won the Annual Greg Mellen Memorial Cryptology Scholarship Prize from Cryptologia. Her article "Wavelet-Based Steganography" appears in the April 2004 issue of that journal.