EMSW21-VIGRE at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Abstract: University of Wisconsin VIGRE Program

There is a critical shortage of US students and faculty in mathematics.

This has been identified as a major source of concern by both academia

and industry. The UW-Madison VIGRE Program seeks to address a number of

critical pipeline issues which underlie this situation, via a variety of integrated activities centered in the Department of Mathematics. We will offer academic year collaborative undergraduate research labs (CURLs), as well as summer research experiences for undergraduates (REUs). VIGRE fellowships will be offered to promising domestic graduate students, and we will organize summer enhancement programs for training beginning graduate students. We will also offer VIGRE Posdoctoral Fellowships, which enhance our regular teaching positions with reduced teaching and substantial faculty mentoring. Our VIGRE program will also establish internships for graduate students in industry and in national labs.

We propose to use VIGRE support to expand the Wisconsin Talent Search,

building on its past success, to attract talented high school students

into mathematics and science. In addition we will organize a variety of

interactive activities, including an expanded Brown Bag Seminar, Math

Club, Graduate Participation Seminars, Major Trends in Mathematics lecture series, etc. Our VIGRE program will enable undergraduate and graduate students to enjoy an enhanced learning experience, including research projects, internships, seminars and many other activities. More generally the VIGRE program will foster a sense of integrated scholarship at UW-Madison, involving students, postdocs and faculty. The VIGRE grant will significantly enhance our ability to attract and retain talented students and postdocs, especially from women and underrepresented groups. It will also be a fundamental catalyst towards further establishing a permanent tradition of mentoring young colleagues in teaching and research, as well as deepening our interactions with other disciplines. Through our REUs, undergraduates nation-wide will benefit from our research activities. Science, engineering and math students at Wisconsin will benefit from curricular changes arising from VIGRE activities. Our expanded talent search and other outreach plans at local high schools will help attract new generations into our discipline.