James Madison University

Title: M³: Mentoring for Minorities in Mathematics Dynamical systems and Chaos

Directors: Anthony Tongen and Roger Thelwell

Email: tongenal (at) jmu (dot) edu

Dates of Program: May 5 - June 13, 2008

Summary: Nonlinear dynamics is a fascinating area - its depth and power have led to many fundamental mathematical contributions. The research project is a practical demonstrations of chaos, a surprising and striking outcome of simple nonlinear interactions. We will use the famous Lorenz system of equations. The treatment of the Lorenz system is usually abstract: it is rarely tied to physical experiment. An important component of this 6-week research experience is to build a concrete demonstration of chaos and use this demonstration to deduce properties of the Lorenz system. These experiments, and the observations made from them, will stimulate the young students of mathematics and encourage them to explore the Lorenz model mathematically. The mathematics, in turn, will raise questions leading to further experimentation.

Learn more about the program at www.math.jmu.edu/~tongen/NREUP/.

Student Researchers Supported by MAA: