Mentoring Undergraduate Research in Mathematical Modeling

Abstract

In writing about undergraduate research in mathematical modeling, I draw on my 31 years as a mathematics professor at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where I mentored students in honors’ theses, REU groups, and research done in a classroom setting, as well as my prior experience. I share my views on the differences between research at the undergraduate and professional levels, offer advice for undergraduate mentoring, provide suggestions for a variety of ways that students can disseminate their research, offer some thoughts on mathematical modeling and how to explain it to undergraduates, and discuss the challenges involved in broadening research participation to include early career students and mid-tier students and how to deliver a research experience in a classroom setting. While different situations pose different challenges, different problems require different approaches, and different experiences lead to different conclusions, it is my hope that my experiences will be of broad value to a wide audience.