Undergraduate Education at the Interface of Mathematics and Biology
This program seeks to investigate educational models and strategies that will inform national efforts to enhance undergraduate education and training at the intersection of mathematics and biology. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and New Mexico State University (NMSU) have partnered to provide intensive, multidisciplinary mentored research experiences for undergraduates supported by relevant coursework. To date, they have recruited three students for research stipends: Ryan Hatch, Tori Barron, and Jesus Perez and they are developing a new course that will be offered next spring entitled, Introduction to Mathematical Biology. This program continues in FY ’09.
The mentoring program at NMSU has the following objectives:
1) Provide interacting cohorts of students with long-term, hands-on research experience;
2) Enhance the professional development of students through intensive mentoring by a team of faculty mentors drawn from the biological and mathematical sciences;
3) Increase the preparedness of students to conduct research in mathematical biology by constructing a program of studies and by developing a new course and workshops; and
4) Increase the representation of minority students in graduate programs in mathematical biology.
Each long-term research experience is directed by a multi-disciplinary team of faculty researchers and provides a cohort of undergraduates with experiences in laboratory, field, and modeling techniques. The projects expose students to interdisciplinary, team-based, goal-oriented activities and instills principles of hypothesis formulation, model building and parameterization, experimentation, sampling, data management, hypothesis testing, and scientific communication. The research experience is supplemented by a number of cultural activities and by the development of a formal course, Introduction to Mathematical Biology, which presents a survey of topics and applications in mathematical biology.
Cultural activities include monthly workshops to enhance studentsʼ professional development, critical thinking, scientific skill sets, and communication skills. Workshop topics include: Scientific Method (scientific hypotheses and hypothesis testing), Biological Sampling, Mathematical Biology and Modeling, Introductory Statistics and Inference, Scientific Communication (writing and oral presentation), and Applying to Graduate School. In addition to workshops, the program establishes the Spicy Burrito and Hot Journal Club. During weeks without workshops, students attend a journal club to sample burritos and to discuss science in general and mathematical biology in particular.
Contact: William Boecklen, wboeckle@nmsu.edu
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