Muhlenberg receives Center for Undergraduate Research in Mathematics grant
The grant provides $15,000 for student stipends and $6,000 to fund faculty research, in addition to dedicated allowances for travel to the Student Research Conference this summer at Brigham Young University.
By: Melissa Rosenberg '15 Monday, April 27, 2015 11:12 AM
Pictured: Emily Nguyen '16
The Muhlenberg College math department was awarded a mini-grant of $25,500 from the Center for Undergraduate Research in Mathematics (CURM). The grant provides funding for student research with Dr. Daniel File, visiting assistant professor of mathematics & computer science, and Dr. William Gryc, assistant professor of mathematics & computer science.
CURM, funded by the National Science Foundation, focuses on assisting underrepresented student groups such as females and minorities. At least four out of the five students involved in the grant research will be female. More than half of the math majors and minors at Muhlenberg are women.
Some students will research “best offer” purchase behaviors on the auction website eBay. The students working with Gryc are currently enrolled in Auction Theory; course materials will provide a foundation for the research project. In addition to course-related material, several students will also pursue independent research topics within the fields of analysis and probability. File’s students will focus on topics related to algebra and number theory.
“We hope that these experiences will help our students excel as graduate school candidates,” said Gryc. “The opportunities provided by the CURM grant will continue a culture of research in mathematics and will better prepare our students for graduate education in pure mathematics.”
One of the goals of the research opportunity is for Muhlenberg students to present the results of the research and submit a paper with their findings for publication.
“This grant builds in really good incentives for the students to not only publish their work, but also present it at a national meeting,” explained File.
