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A summer of mathematical research

REU program in Mathematics at OSU

Ten students from universities and colleges across the country have gathered for the long-running and prestigious Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program in Mathematics at Oregon State University for summer 2017. OSU has offered a REU program in mathematics nearly every summer since 1987.

The eight-week program, co-directed by Associate Professors Holly Swisher and Clayton Petsche, has garnered high praise from alumni over the years. It has been commended for providing valuable mentorship and exposing students to the process of mathematical research as well as deepening their interest and passion for mathematics as a discipline and profession.

This year student research projects are directed by Oregon State mathematicians Nathan Gibson, Ren Guo, Yevgeniy Kovchegov, Juan Restrepo, and Mike Rosulek from the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Students participating in the 2017 mathematics REU are: Jacqueline Alvarez (California State Polytechnic University, Pomona), Claire Campregher (California State University, Long Beach), Karina Cho (Harvey Mudd College), Andrew Fisher (Walla Walla University), Brian Frost-LaPlante (Cooper Union), Josh Gerstein (Carleton College), Jesse Johnson (Oregon State University), Jacob Naranjo (Kalamazoo College), Anna Raichev (University of California, San Diego), and Collin Victor (University of Nebraska).

The students are working on a broad array of mathematical projects in areas ranging from dynamic (time-varying) systems, classical geometry in Euclidean space, coalescent processes, uncertainty quantification, and cryptography.

The Mathematics REU at OSU has a stellar record in terms of student achievement and success. Almost 300 students have participated in this REU since 1987, and nearly 55 percent of its alumni from the years 2005-2013 have earned a graduate degree in the mathematical sciences. Female participation in the math REU has been consistently high, and data for a 10-year period (2005-2015) shows that nearly 47 percent of the REU participants were female.

After the term of their research is complete, REU students give talks and prepare research papers for publications. REU students and their faculty mentors at OSU have had considerable success in getting their papers accepted for publication at important mathematic research journals over the years.

Read more about the REU program in Mathematics at OSU and its achievements.