Mathematics Genealogy

Posted on November 24, 2010 by Tyler Clark

by Tyler Clark

I am sure you have probably heard of the Mathematics Genealogy Project (MGP). The mission of the MGP, updated by faculty and students at North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota, is “to compile information about ALL the mathematicians of the world.” Their website says they want to compile the following information,

  • The complete name of the degree Mathematics Genealogy Project Buttonrecipient
  • The name of the university which awarded the degree
  • The year in which the degree was awarded
  • The complete title of the dissertation
  • The complete name(s) of the advisor(s)

It is a very interesting website to browse in your free time. I have, however, wondered if there is a way to find a relationship you have with a specific mathematician. This led me to do a Google search for more information about this question. From my search, I came across another website that I have found to be quite interesting. It is called Mathematical Relationships. This website allows you to enter a name of a mathematician and search for their relationship with another mathematician. It is powered by the MGP, so both mathematicians must have an entry on the MGP website. Try it out and let us know what you find out about yourself or your advisor(s).


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UCLA Math Undergraduate Merit Scholarship for 2010

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Kareem Carr

by Kareem Carr

The deadline for this scholarship is November 30, 2010.

I recently noticed this offer of a scholarship on Terry Tao’s blog.

We intend to offer one new scholarship every year.

The UCLA Math Undergraduate Merit Scholarship provides for full tuition, and a room and board allowance for 4 years. In addition, scholarship recipients follow an individualized accelerated program of study, as determined after consultation with UCLA faculty … The program of study leads to a Masters degree in Mathematics in four years.

The application can be found here.

There is also an interesting discussion in the comment section of Terry’s post on whether it is a good idea to strongly accelerate the education of a child in a particular aspect such as mathematics. One commenter called M. says in part:

A person who gets a scholarship like above and as a freshman starts taking classes with graduate students and senior, who are all quite committed to mathematics, is probably on a one-way to ticket to become a mathematician. Do you really think it is correct for a person to commit himself or herself so seriously to mathematics as early as this?

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Outreach

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Brian Simanek

By Brian Simanek

Recently, a local elementary school student sent me a letter as part of a class assignment. He said he was interested in studying math in college and asked me about extra work he can do to get ahead in math. The first thing that entered my mind was MATHCOUNTS, which I suggested to him. Other than that, I didn’t have many exciting ideas. Of course I emphasized the importance of working hard in school and asking his teachers about preparing for standardized tests like the SAT, but in my mind, he would be living up to every expectation if his math education through high-school consisted exclusively of what he was taught in classes. On the other hand, I really wanted to send him a reply that would increase his enthusiasm for math. Does anybody recall something they did during elementary school (let’s say fifth grade) that piqued their interest in math and would recommend to a current student?

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Wikipedia and Mathematics

Posted on November 21, 2010 by Tyler Clark

by Tyler Clark

Lately I have seen quite a few online blog entries “citing” Wikipedia for their information. While Wikipedia contains a wealth of information, there is a right and a wrong way to utilize Wikipedia. I fear that this trend of citing Wikipedia is going to begin to cloud people’s judgment and cause them to use Wikipedia inappropriately.

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Graduate Student Seminars

Posted on November 20, 2010 by Branden Stone

by Branden Stone

It is my impression that not every institution has a graduate student seminar, that is, a seminar completely organized by graduate students.  This was the case at my university, so I decided to start one.  This gave a place for everyone from first year students to post docs (and sometimes professors) to meet and talk about various topics.  For example, this fall we decided to each pick a paper and give a talk about the main ideas of the paper.  These talks gave way to good discussions and each person who talked gained a special understanding of their topic.  Next semester, as students are preparing for job interviews, we plan on using the seminar for job talk practice.  This will give the senior student practice and the beginning student a feel for what type of research is being done in the department. Continue reading →

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