Summer 2023 marked the 3rd year of the Midwest Research Experience for Graduates (MREG). MREG is conceptualized and coordinated by U-M graduate students in mathematics. This year’s 2-week, in-person summer workshop in Ann Arbor built off of the past two years of successful operation as a virtual program. MREG has the dual focus of immersing graduate students in math research projects and discussing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) related topics. The 2023 program was co-supported/funded by MCAIM, the National Science Foundation, the U-M Department of Mathematics, and a Rackham Faculty Allies and Student Allies Diversity Grant.
MREG is designed to provide early graduate students in pure, applied, and interdisciplinary mathematics an opportunity to engage in research with their peers, and to network with early-career faculty and professionals working in these fields. At the same time, the aim is to promote and help start conversations around various initiatives and issues centered on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
Plenary DEI-related talks included:
– Taking an Anti-deficit Perspective on Mathematical Ideas (Aditya Adiredja, University of Arizona)
– Investigating High-Quality Instruction at Community Colleges with a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Lens (Vilma Mesa, University of Michigan)
– Building and Maintaining Connections With and Between Students to Support Equity in Math Classes (Kim Seashore, San Francisco State University)
Research projects in mathematics included:
– Geometric Structures & Curves on Surfaces (Group Leader: Caleb Ashley, Boston College)
– The Virtual Euler Characteristic for Graphic Matroids (Group Leader: Juliette Bruce, Brown University)
– Utilizing Stochastic Modeling Techniques in Interdisciplinary Studies (Group Leader: Keisha Cook, Clemson University)
– Using Analysis and PDE to Study Traffic Flow (Group Leader: Neel Patel, University of Maine)
– Multiclass Perceptrons (Group Leader: Yutong Wang, University of Michigan)
The 2023 MREG included 30 leaders, participants, and U-M graduate student coordinators from Boston College, Brown, Clemson University, University of Maine, Washington University in St. Louis, Kent State, Purdue, Kansas State, University of Missouri, Indiana University Bloomington, Northwestern, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Ohio State, and the University of Michigan.
Grad Students Participate in Immersive Workshop Focused on Mathematics Research & DEI Discussions
