COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is designed in the style of the Hungarian "TDK" system, allowing advanced undergraduates to become acquainted with research methods in detail and acquire additional knowledge beyond their obligatory curriculum. (For a brief English description of the TDK system see a relevant ELTE University homepage.)

In this course, a student can choose from the topics/problems listed below and work with other students and the professor to solve the given problem. All work is summarized in a research paper, ideally, however that is not expected given the time constraints. In addition, during the semester there will be an opportunity to present your work as well.

Participating in the research course may contribute to the successful beginning of a scientific career: depending on level, the results obtained can be presented at school, statewide or national undergraduate meetings ranging from a local Undergradute Seminar at your home school to MAA's MathFest. Papers may also be published in undergraduate research journals such as The Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Mathematics Journal, Involve and several others.

In some PhD programs, fruitful undergraduate reserach activity is a prerequisite for admission.

Student research is supervised by professors. Research topics are offered by them, but students can also propose topics of their own interest.

You can view articles that were written under the auspices of the BSM program

COURSE LOGISTICS

• Who can participate? The list of research topics and professors proposing them is posted below. In addition to the problem description, each professor gives introductory problems for interested students to solve under "Qualifying problems". If you are considering participating, submit your solutions to the qualifying problems of the research problem that you would like to work on on June 5th (Wednesday), directly to the professor whose problem you are interested in.
  
  Enrollment will be based on solutions submitted to qualifying problems to professors and your transcript and reference letter submitted as your application materials to the American office. Decisions on admittance to the research group will be made by June 9th.
• Which topics will actually be offered ("stay alive")? Of the initially offered research problems those will be offered eventually, for which a group of students sign up and are admitted to the program. Ideally, a group will consist of 3-5 students.
• Course work: weekly meetings. The research groups will meet 3-4 times weekly, two hours each.
  Two meetings are devoted to group work, when you discuss the problem and possible solutions with your student group without the professor. The other meetings of the week are spent with your professor who will monitor your group's progress. Whether you meet once or twice with your Professor on a given week will be decided case-by-case, depending on progress.
• Course work: presentation. Work continuous thrughout the Summer Semester. Around week 6 or 7 each research group should present their results at a "Preliminary report session" organized for all BSM-TDK participants, their professors and everyone else interested.
• Course work: writing a paper. Depending on results obtained all work will be summarized in a paper/research report.
• Evaluations and grading: Grading for the course is done on an A-F scale.
  Based on all work up to that point, students receive "midterm assessment grades" around week 4/5. As part of the midterm evaluation a student may be required to submit a (relatively short) report on the work in progress, to their professor. (Thus the report should include eg a description of the problem, as well as the methods used in tackling it and a write-up of results, if any.)
  Note that only students meeting each of the following criteria may continue working on research after the midterm (all other students will have to drop research or will receive an "Audit" for the course):
  • the midterm assessment grade for the research course is at least A-
  • their grades in all of their other mathematics courses is at least B
  • their GPA in all math courses is at least 3.5 (using the A+ 4.3, A 4 pont, A- 3.7, B+ 3.3, B 3, pont conversion).

  Students also receive a course grade at the end of the summer term. The transcript will contain only the course grade.

RESEARCH PROBLEMS PROPOSED — SUMMER 2024.