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The University of Tennessee

Mathematics Department

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The UT summer REU is a structured program with required activities each day. On the application form, students will be asked to state a first and second choice of research topics. Whenever possible students will be assigned their first choice of research topic. Below is a weekly calendar listing the number and "type" of days in each week. The description for each type of day follows the calendar. Students should arrive by 4 pm June 1 and depart after 5pm August 1. Housing will be paid for from the night of May 31 through the night of August 1. Except for the July 3-4 holiday and weekends, students are expected to be on campus, participating in the program.

June 1 Orientation
June 2-6 Week 1: 5M
June 9-13 Week 2: 5M
June 16-20 Week 3: 5R
June 23-27 Week 4: 5R
June 30-July 2 Week 5: R-R-P
July 7-11 Week 6: 5R
July 14-18 Week 7: 5R
July 21-25 Week 8: 5R
July 28-August 1 Week 9: W-W-W-T-T
August 2 Departure

Mini-course day (M) During each mini-course day there will be lectures and problem sessions related to the three topics. All students will attend all mini-course lectures and problem sessions. During the problem sessions, students may be divided into groups that will be shuffled periodically to allow students to interact with others who may not be in their final research group.

Research day (R) At the end of the mini-courses, students will be divided into three research groups of 3-5 people. Students will meet once or twice with a faculty mentor. Three days per week the students meet with a graduate student to work through a research paper. Each day the group is expected to write a short report on the day's activities and e-mail it to their faculty mentor.

Progress day (P) Each group will have a one-hour period in which to present to the other students what they have been working on.

Wrap-up/writing (W) On these days both morning and afternoon meetings will be supervised by the faculty mentor, who will advise students in finalizing and writing up results. Students will also prepare and practice their final talks.

Talks (T) Each student will give an individual 45-minute presentation. All students are expected to attend all talks, and all mentors should attend talks in their area if possible.

updated: 01/4/08