EDT: Experiential Diversity in Graduate Education

Mathematical sciences graduate research training at the doctoral level in the United States plays a vital role in promoting not only the mathematical research enterprise, but transformative changes in biotechnology, financial services, data processing, engineering, and many other areas of industry and academia important to the nation's economy and security. This three-year project, Experiential Diversity in Graduate Education (EDGE@UB), aims to enrich training of mathematics doctoral students by exposing them to mathematical challenges and career pathways outside the traditional academic environment. EDGE@UB will broaden students' awareness of non-academic career pathways; train students to take inspiration for research problems from outside the mathematical sciences, keeping their research ideas fresh and relevant; enhance recruitment of strong and ambitious students, particularly women and underrepresented minorities; enhance faculty understanding of the diverse job markets for their doctoral students; and strengthen ties between academic mathematics and consumers of mathematics. The program aims to increase the number of mathematics doctoral recipients who are well-prepared to thrive in non-academic careers. Graduate students participating in the Experiential Diversity in Graduate Education program at the University of Buffalo will take part in a yearlong supplementary training program, conducted in collaboration with partners from industry and consumers of mathematics in the academic community. The centerpiece of this training is a six week summer internship, working onsite with the partners. Participating students receive preparatory training and teaching release time for further study prior to the internship. This preparatory training reduces the at-work learning curve, enhancing the interns' value to the partners. Throughout training, students are paired with a faculty member (trainer) who monitors their development and is available for additional mathematical consultation. The program has confirmed five industry partners and one academic partner. Each partner has identified a specific problem suitable for student study. The partners/problems are: MOOG -- Improved understanding of the mathematics governing mechanics of ball screws; M&T Bank -- Understanding behavior of homeowners with home equity lines of credit; The University of Buffalo School of Management -- Stochastic optimization and network outages; Secure RF Corporation -- Testing security protocols based on Braid Groups and Finite Fields; IBM Buffalo Innovation Center -- Training of Watson.