The Department of Mathematics mentors and sponsors undergraduate research. The undergraduate Senior Seminar (MTH 491) course provides all mathematics majors with the opportunity to work on an individual research project.
Undergraduate Research Opportunities
Research programs for undergraduate mathematics majors include:
- The Differential Analyzer Laboratory, supervised by Dr. Bonita Lawrence, has several ongoing student research projects.
- The Mathematical Biology research group, mentored by Dr. Anna Mummert, is actively studying the spread and control of influenza using discrete mathematical modeling. This research was funded by an NSF mathematical biology research grant.
- Individual student projects can be funded by the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) grant program.
- Individual student projects can also be funded by NASA West Virginia Space Grant Undergraduate Fellowship Program.
- In 2016, the Mathematics department received a PIC Math grant to facilitate applied student research projects. The department continues to offer courses in the same style in which teams of students serve a mathematical consultants for local governments and organizations.
Modeling police patrol routes
In 2016, a team of undergraduates analyzed the police patrol zones for the City of Huntington, using a mathematical model which they developed. This research was sponsored by the PIC Math project. Read more in the Herald-Dispatch.
Photo credit: City of Huntington
From left to right: Huntington Police Chief Joe Ciccarelli, Matthew Haldaman, Elizabeth Hance, Ben Jones, Jerry Gilbert, Sara Brumbaugh, Mathematics Professor Michael Schroeder, and Kevin McDaniel.