Undergrad Research
Undergraduate research was a formative experience for me and one I'm excited to share with students now! If you're a Hamline student, please feel free to reach out with questions about any of the below.
What does research in math look like?
Math research takes many different forms! I'm trained in theoretical math, which means most of my research takes the form of inventing/discovering (depending on your point of view) new mathematical definitions, examples, and theorems. In practice, this means I spend my research time reading math papers, drawing pictures of examples, doing some abstract computations, developing conjectures and trying to prove them, and eventually writing math papers.
Undergraduate research in my flavours of math can look like:
applying methods from statistics and data science to new data sets,
developing new methods for analyzing data,
writing code to complete mathematical computations,
looking for mathematical patterns to describe with a new theorem,
reviewing mathematical literature and writing expository work (e.g. a paper that explains complex mathematical ideas to undergraduates or videos introducing ideas from math to a broad audience),
researching the effectiveness of different ways of teaching math and developing classroom materials.
How can I get paid to do research in math?
At Hamline:
Summer Collaborative Research (SCUR)
Work with a faculty member to propose and complete a research project,
Includes housing, a stipend, and four credits,
Application deadline is typically early spring.
Ask me about other funding sources
Depending on the year, there may be specific funds the department can use to pay student researchers.
For specific projects, with longer timelines, grant funding could be possible.
Elsewhere:
Research Experiences for Undergraduates
These are typically programs where students from different universities come together to work on a research project,
A partial list is available here (click "Research Experiences for Undergraduates" under "Filter by Category"),
Stipend, housing, and travel costs are typically included, but vary between programs,
May require prerequisite courses/experience---talk to me or another math faculty member if you need help determining if you qualify.
Why should I do research in math?
Undergraduate research is often advertised as something for students who are interested in graduate school---it's true that these programs can help you get a sense for academic research and whether that's something you'd like to pursue further! However, there are many more reasons to do research, whether or not you're considering a research career. A good undergraduate research program:
provides an opportunity to learn a lot about a topic not covered in your coursework that's targeted to your interests,
connects you with faculty members who can serve as mentors and future references,
gives you practice working on longer-term, open-ended problems,
boosts your resume by showing you have skills in problem solving, time/project management, and collaboration; as well as technical skills,
helps you practice communicating about a technical topic to a general audience (super important in any job where you're implementing your math skills!).
Me as an undergraduate, presenting my group's research at Boise State University's REU.