Talk by Dr. Lisa Davis (Mathematical Sciences, MSU)

10/24/2019  Wilson Hall 1-144  3:10-4:00pm

Abstract: 

For this presentation, I'll describe the MT PEAKS program, a graduate training project that is in its second year of a three-year funding cycle through the NSF Enriched Doctoral Training (EDT) program. The goal of the MT PEAKS program is to broaden the graduate training of doctoral students in the department so that they are equipped to pursue career paths beyond the traditional academic tract and are able to recognize opportunities to apply mathematics and statistics to solve problems in other disciplines. Project activities include lab rotations in Materials Science (MTSI) labs here at MSU, interdisciplinary research projects and internships with Business, Industry and Government (BIG) partners. I'll discuss the results of the work from year one with a summary of the outcomes and some lessons learned. Positive outcomes include placement of three participants from the year one cohort in summer internships at national labs, and one participant was able to coauthor a publication from the research project. Adjustments made for the second year cohort will be described, and future goals of the program will be presented.

Participation in the project is open to all graduate students within the department, and I'll describe the ways that a student can get involved in these activities. All graduate students who are interested in learning about the program and/or participating in the program in the future are encouraged to attend.