Overview. This course serves as an experiential based introduction to research in the mathematical sciences. Students will gain skills and insight in critical thinking, creative problem solving, and collaboration.
Meeting Time and Location. Meeting times and locations will be determined by project supervisors.
Textbook. There is no textbook for the course.
Contact. The best way to contact me is by email. My email address is tsincla(at)purdue.edu. I will usually respond to emails fairly promptly during normal business hours. If you have not received a reply within 48 hours, feel free to follow up.
Office. My office is 744 in the Mathematical Sciences building.
Office Hours. There are no office hours for the course. Meetings can be scheduled by email.
Brightspace. The course page on Brightspace will serve as the main point of contact for announcements, assignments, course policy, and virtual content. Students will be expected to check the course page regularly, at least before every class meeting.
Gradescope. Assignments must be uploaded to Gradescope via the course page in Brightspace. No hard copies of assignments will be accepted.
Academic Calendar For ease of reference, here is a link to the academic calendar detailing all breaks, add/drop deadlines, etc.
Accommodations. Purdue University strives to make learning experiences accessible to all participants. If you anticipate or experience physical or academic barriers based on disability, you are encouraged to contact the Disability Resource Center at: drc@purdue.edu or by phone: 765-494-1247, as soon as possible. If the Disability Resource Center (DRC) has determined reasonable accommodations that you would like to utilize in this class, you must send your Course Accommodation Letter to the instructor. Instructions on sharing your Course Accommodation Letter can be found by visiting: https://www.purdue.edu/drc/students/course-accommodation-letter.php. Additionally, you are strongly encouraged to contact the instructor as soon as possible to discuss implementation of your accommodations.
Assignments. Each project group must submit a short, 2-4 page, initial report, serving as a brief description of their project and detailing background, objectives, and possible approaches, by the end of the fifth week of instruction. Each project group must submit a final report, approximately 4-5 pages, detailing project accomplishments and outcomes by the end of the final week of instruction.
Presentations. Project groups will be responsible for delivering a 5-minute presentation on the status of their project during a research night event to be scheduled for midterm. Project groups will be responsible for creating a poster and a 10-minute presentation for an event scheduled for the final week of instruction.
Grades. There will be 100 total points. The initial report will be worth 10 points, the final report worth 20 points, the midterm presentation will be worth 10 points, and the the final poster and presentation will be worth 30 points. An additional 30 points will be determined by recommendation of the project supervisor based on participation and engagement. Grades will be determined by percentage of total points earned. Students who get at least 97% of the total points in this course are guaranteed an A+,93% guarantees an A, 90% an A-, 87% a B+, 83% a B,80% a B-, 77% a C+, 73% a C, 70% a C-, 67% a D+, 63% a D, and 60% a D-. The final grade cut-offs may differ slightly.
Academic Integrity. See the Academic Integrity webpage from the Office of the Dean of Students. Penalties for academic dishonesty will be, at minimum, a score of zero on the quiz or assignment. Egregious cases will be referred to the Dean of Students and may result in failure of the course or expulsion.
The following is a tentative outline of topics covered and is subject to change. If you are absent from class it is your responsibility to find out what material was covered and to obtain notes from classmates.
Week 1, 1/13 Have an initial meeting with project group.
Week 2, 1/20
Week 3, 1/27
Week 4, 2/3
Week 5, 2/10 Initial reports due.
Week 6, 2/17
Week 7, 2/24
Week 8, 3/3
Week 9, 3/10 PI DAY 3/14, Mid-term presentations.
Week 10, 3/17 SPRING BREAK
Week 11, 3/24
Week 12, 3/31
Week 13, 4/7
Week 14, 4/14
Week 15, 4/21
Week 16, 4/28 Final presentations. Final reports due.