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Special Collections Invites Applications for Undergraduate Research Award

The Friends of the Library & Gallery is inaugurating a $500 award for undergraduates to do research in the library’s Special Collections.  Projects that make substantial onsite use of the Special Collections in any area ranging from the photography collections to the biological sciences archives, and from the rare books to the science fiction holdings are eligible for consideration by the committee charged with judging the applications.  Applicants must submit a project statement, a writing sample, and a letter of recommendation for them and their project from a faculty mentor.  The applications and accompanying materials must be submitted to Chief Curator Tom Beck by November 12, 2015 for funding during the spring semester 2016. 

Lois Kuhn Romeo, Chair of the Friends Council, said that the group is delighted to offer support to student researchers in Special Collections.  “UMBC is nationally recognized as an innovator in undergraduate research, and the Friends wishes to recognize talented students by giving them support in doing their research,” Ms. Romeo remarked.  Acting Director of the Library & Gallery Joyce Tenney said: “The Special Collections have excellent holdings and superb staff that will be pleased to give the Friends award winners the benefit of their expertise.”  

Questions may be sent to Tom Beck by telephone (x53827) or email (beck@umbc.edu).

Students are invited to attend the Modern Math Workshop at the upcoming SACNAS Conference at the Gaylord Hotel National Harbor at the end of October. Funding has been allocated for those who are accepted to attend this workshop.

Description from http://www.msri.org/workshops/789:

As part of the Mathematical Sciences Collaborative Diversity Initiatives, nine mathematics institutes are pleased to host their annual SACNAS pre-conference event, the 2015 Modern Math Workshop (MMW). The Modern Math Workshop is intended to encourage minority undergraduates to pursue careers in the mathematical sciences and to assist undergraduates, graduate students and recent PhD’s in building their research networks.

The Modern Math Workshop is part of the SACNAS National Conference and the MMW begins with registration at noon on Wednesday, October 28 and ends at noon on Thursday, October 29.

The Modern Math Workshop presents 2 mini-courses for undergraduates and talks related to the research programs at the math institutes that would be of interest to graduate students and early career researchers. The workshop culminates on Thursday, Oct. 29 with a plenary lecture by Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, President of UMBC (The University of Maryland, Baltimore County).

Plenary Lecture on Thursday, Oct. 29:

“Rethinking the Culture of STEM Education in America: Promoting Student Success and Minority Achievement”

Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, President, UMBC

11 AM, National Harbor 2 – Level 3, Gaylord Hotel

• Download the General Schedule: For SACNAS _ 150814_MMW_General Schedule_Oct_28-29, 2015 (1)
• Download the list of mini-courses: For SACNAS _ 150805_MMW_2-Mini-courses_for Undergraduates_Wed-Oct-28_Abstract_Bios

TO REGISTER:

Step 1: Email:  MMW-info@msri.org, and CC promisestaff@gmail.com with the subject line: “Modern Math Workshop via PROMISE website.” Give your name, school, department, contact email address and phone, undergraduate or graduate status. If you are an undergraduate student, discuss which course you would like to attend, and whether or not you intend to attend Thursday’s segment and President Hrabowski’s talk.

Step 2: See the comment section at the bottom of this page, and post a) name, b) school, c) department. We will cross-check with the PROMISE email for other details.

You will receive additional instructions from the MMW team. They have a limited amount of funding, but will fund as many undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs, and early-career faculty as possible.

SESSIONS FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS, POSTDOCS,  & EARLY CAREER RESEARCHERS, Weds. & Thurs. 

http://www.msri.org/ckeditor_assets/attachments/310/150903_mmw_schedule_for_grad_students-early_career_researchers_oct_28-29_2015.pdf

SESSIONS FOR UNDERGRADUATES

http://www.msri.org/ckeditor_assets/attachments/296/150805_mmw_2-mini-courses_for_undergraduates_wed-oct-28_abstract_bios.pdf

Mini-courses for Undergrads:

1) Harshad Numbers and Sage Programming 

A Harshad number is a positive integer that is divisible by the sum of its digits. The word “Harshad” comes from the Sanskrit harsa (joy) + da (give), meaning joy-giver, which was defined by the Indian mathematician D.R. Kaprekar. All one digit numbers are Harshad numbers and it is fairly simple to determine which two digit numbers are Harshad. In 1994, H. Grundman generalized the concept to b-Harshad (or b-Niven) numbers. Simply put, for b > 1, a b-Harshad number is a positive integer that is divisible by the sum of the digits of its base b expansion. The mini-course will provide undergraduate students with an opportunity to learn about Harshad numbers and how to compute some of their properties using the freely available mathematical program Sage. No prior programing experience is required. Prerequisite: An undergraduate algebra or number theory course. 

2) An Introduction to the Theory of Sandpiles

The sandpile model developed by Bak, Tang, and Wiesenfeld in 1987 is a mathematical model first used to exemplify the concept of self-organized criticality (SOC). SOC is a property of certain dynamical systems that naturally evolve toward critical states and it is considered to be one of the mechanisms by which complexity arises in nature. The abelian sandpile model 8.5.15 introduced by Dhar in 1990 is a special class of sandpile model defined on a combinatorial graph whose dynamic structure is encoded in a finite abelian group known as the sandpile group. This algebraic structure has played a central role in the study of diverse properties of the abelian sandpile model. Moreover, the sandpile group has also been an important object of study in several distinct areas of mathematics, including algebraic combinatorics, algebraic, tropical and arithmetic geometry, the theory of computation, and the study of pattern formation. In this mini-course, we will give an introduction to the theory of sandpiles. In particular, we will study the interactions between the combinatorics of the graph, the algebraic information of the sandpile group and the dynamics of the abelian sandpile model. Prerequisite: One undergraduate course in linear algebra.

AFTER THE MATH INSTITUTE – ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES AT SACNAS

If you plan to attend activities after President Hrabowski’s talk, at the SACNAS Conference – which begins on Thurs., Oct. 29 – you will need to register for the SACNAS Conference and pay the SACNAS registration fee, which is $275 for one day and goes up to $440 (see http://www.2015sacnas.org/events/2015-sacnas-national-conference/custom-36-6170a953907b4808ab42c5ec7ec147b6.aspx). Note: Acceptance to the Modern Math Workshop provides funding for you to attend the workshop on Wednesday and Thursday. If you want to attend other activities at SACNAS, you will have to register for SACNAS directly and secure another source of funding. The MMW pays accepted applicants’ registration for the Wednesday and Thursday Modern Math Institute only. 

Update: 10/14/15, sent from MSRI:

To recap, the Modern Math Workshop (MMW) will be held on Oct. 28-29 (Wed.-Thursday) at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in the Washington, DC area.  For a map and Gaylord National parking details, go to http://tinyurl.com/GaylordMap-Parking.

When you arrive on Wednesday, please register in-person between 12-1 pm on Wed., Oct. 28 at the Registration Table in front of National Harbor Rm. 3 (on level 3, see the attached layout) and sign-in to confirm your presence and pick-up your nametag (you will have one waiting for you if you register online).  Wearing your nametag will act as your “ticket” for access to the MMW activities on both days of the Workshop.

For more information about the Workshop, see www.msri.org/e/MMW2015.  To see the activities at the SACNAS National Conference, go to http://tinyurl.com/2015SACNAS.

If you are an employee of UMBC (50% time or more) or a “Non-Traditional” student, and if you are working on your graduate school courses, proposal, or dissertation, then this event is for you! We’ve worked with our UMBC employees who are also graduate students at UMBC, College Park, Northeastern, and other institutions.  This year, we are extending this opportunity to non-traditional students who are coming back to school or working full-time. This time is for you! This session will have support, coaching, and food will be provided for you on both days.

You work hard every day to serve others on our campus! You may be supporting your family members, or you have decided to take some time for yourself to reach your goals.  Now, let us work with you to finish your graduate degree. This version of the “Dissertation House” was created just for you!

Dissertation House for UMBC Employees and Non-Traditional Students
Friday, 10/16/15,   9:00 – 5:00 PM (Part I)
Saturday, 10/17/15, 10:00 – 3:00 PM (Part II)

Application: https://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/apply/

Graduate students who are at other schools within the University System of Maryland (http://www.usmd.edu/institutions/) may apply, and will be considered if there is space available.