MATH 486-01, Senior Seminar, Spring 2013

Abstract

Students will be evaluated on the content of their projects, the independence they exhibit in completing their projects, the extent of their participation in the broader mathematical community, and the effectiveness of their communication in explaining their findings.  Content: Projects will be classified as being pure, applied, interdisciplinary, or other. The meaning of “content” depends on which type of project is under consideration. o A pure project is one that involves mathematics without significant reference to applications or other disciplines. o An applied project is a study of how mathematical tools are used to solve problems outside of mathematics or an application of such tools by the student to solve a particular problem. When studying the use of mathematical tools, the project may be either narrow and deep or broad and cohesive. o An interdisciplinary project is one that combines tools from mathematics and another academic discipline in an attempt to solve a problem. Students working on this type of project will be strongly encouraged to have two advisors, one from mathematics and the other from the non-mathematical field. o A project that does not match one of these descriptions belongs to the category other. The student must work with the project supervisor to develop a content description with matching grade guidelines. This description must be submitted to the junior/senior seminar coordinator for his or her approval.