A Primer for Undergraduate Research

Aaron Wootton, Valerie Peterson and Christopher Lee are all current professors in the Mathematics department of the University of Portland. Professor Wootton's research interests include Complex Algebraic Geometry: Defining equations for Riemann Surfaces, Quasiplatonic Surfaces and Dessins D'Enfants, Automorphism Groups of Compact Riemann Surfaces; Group Theory: Finite Groups (Group Actions and Structure Theory), Finitely Presented Groups; Geometric Group Theory: Discrete Groups (Fuchsian Groups and Fundamental Groups), Mapping Class Groups of Compact Connected Surfaces. Professor Peterson's research interests include algebraic topology, metric and combinatorial geometry, geometric group theory, and the teaching and learning of mathematics. Professor Lee's research interests include equivariant differential topology and geometry. In particular: Hamiltonian Lie group actions on (folded) symplectic and contact manifolds, symmetry in completely integrable systems, applications of (combinatorial and smooth) Morse theory, and singularities of differentiable mappings.

Coxeter Groups and the Davis Complex (T.A. Schroeder).- A Tale of Two Symmetries: Embeddable and Non-Embeddable Group Actions on Surfaces (V. Peterson, A. Wootton).- Tile Invariants for Tackling Tiling Questions (M.P. Hitchman).- Forbidden Minors: Finding the Finite Few (T.W. Mattman).- Introduction to competitive graph coloring (C. Dunn, V. Larsen, J.F. Nordstrom).- Matrioids (E. McNicholas, N.A. Neudauer, C. Starr).- Finite Frame Theory (S. Datta, J. Oldroyd).- Mathematical decision-making with linear and convex programming (J. Kotas).- Computing weight multiplicities (P. E. Harris).- Vaccination strategies for small worlds. (W. Just, H. C. Highlander).- Steady and Stable: Numerical Investigations of Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations (R. C. Harwood).

"This book is a superb resource for students and faculty mentors embarking on undergraduate research in mathematics. Its focus is on topics and applications rarely covered in the traditional undergraduate math curriculum, offering novice researchers a sturdy jumping-off point to a broad array of research problems. ... A valuable resource for students and faculty mentors interested in undergraduate research." (V. K. Chellamuthu, Choice, Vol. 56 (2), October, 2018)

“This book is a superb resource for students and faculty mentors embarking on undergraduate research in mathematics. Its focus is on topics and applications rarely covered in the traditional undergraduate math curriculum, offering novice researchers a sturdy jumping-off point to a broad array of research problems. … A valuable resource for students and faculty mentors interested in undergraduate research.” (V. K. Chellamuthu, Choice, Vol. 56 (2), October, 2018)