REU Site: DIMACS REU in Algorithms from Foundations to Applications

This project builds on the long-running Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at DIMACS, the Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. The program's primary goal is to support the first steps of undergraduate students in getting involved with original research in Computer Science. In this way, the DIMACS REU program prepares the next generation of computer scientists and offers the students the tools to kickstart their research careers. Every year, ten students from all over the country are selected to participate in our program. A special effort is made to recruit members of groups underrepresented in computer science, including women and ethnic minorities, as well as students from institutions with limited opportunity for undergraduate research, through contacts with minority-serving institutions and announcements to relevant mailing lists and websites. The students are immersed in a unique multidisciplinary environment as they work on the design, analysis, and use of algorithms. The students are mentored by faculty from several Rutgers departments and DIMACS industrial partners. A carefully structured program offers a comprehensive research experience that combines one-to-one mentoring with various activities, including seminars, workshops, and field trips to industrial partners. This program integrates with other Rutgers undergraduate research programs to add cultural diversity. To foster a global perspective, we collaborate with the Department of Applied Mathematics at Charles University in Prague through a student exchange program. This allows our students to connect with international researchers, gain a better understanding of the global scientific community, and develop intercultural skills and mindset. The DIMACS REU program fosters student growth through diverse research opportunities and provides a rich scientific and cultural experience. Building on the center’s strong foundation in theoretical computer science, in particular complexity and graph algorithms, some projects focus on theoretical results, while other projects challenge students on the use of algorithms to address a wide range of real-world issues, including social networks, genetic analysis, prediction markets, and cancer treatment. In addition to publishing scientific papers and talks, new collaborations are developed with mentors, graduate student assistant mentors, and program coordinators. Involving graduate student assistant mentors and postdoctoral researchers develops the mentoring skills of junior researchers, while offering the REU participants the ability to observe graduate student life directly. An important goal of this program is to build awareness of graduate school and the breadth of options for post-graduate careers and research. The program leverages DIMACS’s position as an interdisciplinary center to involve mentors from various academic departments and industrial partners to offer students varied perspectives and projects whose applications cross disciplines to illustrate the power of computer science in a variety of settings. In this way, the program informs the students on choices about further education and future careers and gives them the foundation and confidence to pursue these choices. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.