Junko's Projects

Graduate Student Seminar Series

Barbara and I have taken care of the GSSS for Fall 2002, which includes taking care of many small things.  For example, finding the speakers by talking to graduate students who are working on some research or have done some research is one thing.  Other things are reserving a room for the semester; advertising the seminar beforehand, on the day before and the reminder on the day of the seminar, via emails and flyers; preparing drinks; asking for an arrangement of pizza, and so on.  But, overall, I should say it was a very valuable experience.

One reason is that I never have taken care of any seminar. Doing something for the first time is always meaningful.  (Life is short.)  Other reason is that the purpose of the seminar itself, giving opportunities to graduate students to present their research topics, and making it possible for graduate students to know what kind of researches the fellow graduate students are currently working on, was very much worthwhile thing to do by itself.


PFMF Web Page Update

For Spring 2003, I took care of updating the PFMF Web page (except for the GSSS page).  It was fun.  Being a former CS major, I basically like almost anything to do with any software.  This included creating the page for Math Awareness Faculty Panel.  The panel was really an exciting event, having at least one professor from almost every research field.  Although I have given up an idea of being a photographer afterwards (if I ever had one), I took pictures as well. It was a very unique opportunity, and I really recommend everyone to attend it the next year, if there would be the one again, hopefully.


REU Program at NAU

In summer, I helped the REU program at NAU.  This program provides selected undergraduate students an opportunity to do a math research. It was a pleasant experience in the comfortable weather in Flagstaff, while getting to know math-oriented hard-working undergraduates.

During my stay, to the entire group of students, I presented my summer research, and talked about my experience as a graduate student. Also, to the students who were working with the professor I was assigned to, provided some lectures about a few topics in Numerical Analysis.

Most of the time, I participated in the program when the students are working with the professor they are assigned to, and here is my advice for anyone considering doing this project.

One thing is, due to my personal reason, I worked in the third week of the program. I strongly recommend that you work in the second week of the program. The thing is, by the time I arrived, the students had already been working on their specific individual research topics, and it was hard to give a help on those topics because if takes time for myself to learn about each of those.

Other thing is that, most of the time, you are expected to work with the professor you are assigned to, not with the entire group of the students. So, it is a good idea to correspond much directly with the professor beforehand, in order to know what exactly s/he would expect you to do. I myself have to go on Web to refresh my memory on some specific topics in NA for a considerably long time. (Ok, if you have much better memory than me, it might be a different story...)

Over all, I would say encouraging potential future mathematitians for their work is something you would enjoy.