Any undergraduate student can apply to participate. You do not need to be a math major, but you need to be curious and enthusiastic about exploring some new mathematical ideas and making real life models of these ideas in a chosen medium. There are projects at all levels. You do not need to have any specific prior mathematical background: you will learn it here! You can apply to participate here.
Why should I apply to participate in the Geometry Lab?
Participation in the Geometry Lab is a great opportunity to learn some advanced math topics in a very experimental way, join a welcoming and inclusive community of people curious and enthusiastic about math, and get a little glimpse of what math research is about. You can apply to participate here.
What kinds of things will I learn about?
Generally speaking, the projects will explore geometric concepts beyond what one might see in traditional lower-level math courses. (But note that you do not need any specific mathematical background to participate!) See past projects for examples of projects we have run in the past.
How is the Geometry Lab structured? How will the groups be assigned?
Each group will consist of two graduate student or postdoc mentors, and roughly three to five undergraduate students. When filling out the registration form, you will be asked to rank which groups you would most like to join. We will try our best to sort everyone into one of their top-ranked groups, depending on scheduling constraints.
What is the time commitment to participate in the Geometry Lab?
Students will meet in groups with their project mentors for 1.5 hours per semester, and are expected to spend about 2 hours each week working on their own and preparing for the group meetings. Each student will be asked to create a “blog” where they can share their progress, things they did, where they are stuck, etc. There will also be three common meetings between all groups throughout the semester where students from all the groups will meet, discuss their project and learn about other projects, and improve in other related important skills.
What will happen during group meetings?
Each weekly 1.5 hour meeting will consist of a mix of mini lectures from the mentors introducing new mathematical concepts, discussion amongst students about what they explored in the past week, further hands-on exploration as a group, and possibly more! The meetings will be guided by the questions and interests of the students, and are meant to operate more like a hands-on lab than a traditional classroom experience.
Can I get course credit? Do I have to get course credit?
Yes, students will sign up for one course credit. Generally this is mandatory, although it may be possible to make exceptions in special cases. Please contact us.