Summary

The Department of Applied Mathematics of the University of Colorado at Boulder proposes to initiate a focused Vertical Integration of Research and Education program in the areas of computational and nonlinear mathematics.

Specifically, the proposal creates tetrahedral research groups consisting of a faculty mentor, a postdoctoral fellow, several graduate students and an undergraduate. Tetrahedra will focus on particular interdisciplinary research problems, hold seminars, write research proposals, and design multi-layered case study modules for courses.

Founded in 1989, the Department has attained a high quality level:

The Department offers B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees.
The Department received an NSF Graduate Research Traineeship Grant for '93-'98 for $555,000.
The number of graduate students has steadily increased from zero to over fifty.
The core faculty of 15 is augmented by 35 affiliated faculty from 17 departments.
All former postdoctoral instructors have obtained academic or faculty positions.

With VIGRE, Applied Mathematics will move to the next level of excellence. The curriculum will be integrated with computation using case study modules. The affiliated faculty program will be extended to government laboratories and technology companies. The case studies will be extended to K-12 teachers in an outreach program, Hands-on Applied Mathematics.