College Park Resident Nora Stack is Emerging Scholar

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Nora Stack (second from left), participated in emerging scholars summer program at St. Mary's College of Maryland

ST. MARY'S CITY, MD (09/27/2011)(readMedia)-- College Park resident Nora Stack was one of 12 undergraduate studetns from around the country chosen to participate this past summer in St. Mary's College of Maryland's Emerging Scholars Program (ESP), a part of the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).Stack is a mathematics major at St. Mary's.

Although St. Mary's has conducted its own Emerging Scholars Program in the past, this is the first year it's funded by NSF and open to non-St. Mary's students. With four students from the college and eight from colleges ranging from the University of Portland to City University New York, and with majors in everything from mathematics to computer science to civil engineering, it is an intentionally diverse group. "We have lots of interesting students with interesting stories," says David Kung, associate professor of mathematics and the coordinator of ESP. "They give us a lot."

They're given a lot in return. All the participants are awarded a stipend that covers their airfare, room and board, and weekend trips to Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. Even more importantly, they get to participate in a program that is specifically geared to students on the younger end of the college spectrum – the only requirements are that they must be entering their sophomore or junior year and have succeeded in Calculus I and Calculus II. It is also unique because it takes place over the summer; while NSF sponsors many other REU programs, most take place during the school year and don't offer the opportunity to travel to a new place.

Not only do the students work in small research groups on problems involving game theory, knot theory, and graph theory, they live together in a suite in Lewis Quad and participate in group activities like kayaking and barbecuing when they're done for the day. "We do a lot of teambuilding," Kung explains. There's fun to be had both inside and outside the classroom, with field trips on the one hand and unsolved problems on the other. "Trying to understand things that nobody understands is inherently fun," says Kung.

His students agree. "When we solved 2 x 2 x n Chomp, it was the best feeling," says Nora Stack '14. Her group included Pomona College student Isabel Juarez, CUNY student Nourou Alassani, and Spelman College student Maryum Styles, and was mentored by Alex Meadows, associate professor of mathematics. Together, they studied a game called Chomp, which is played on an imaginary rectangular piece of chocolate that has one poison square. Two players take turns choosing a square of chocolate to "eat" – which in turn eliminates other squares – until someone is forced to "eat" the poisoned one.

Through sophisticated algorithms, computer software, and hard work at the white board, they tried to determine what strategies work best for winning the game. "I like working through it," says Isabel. "There's no lies," agrees Maryum. It may seem to be a cryptic phrase, but it does embody the heart of the program – the truth about these mathematical questions is out there, and this diverse group of students is determined to find it.

Feature written by Melanie Kokolios

St. Mary's College of Maryland, designated the Maryland state honors college in 1992, is ranked one of the best public liberal arts schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. More than 2,000 students attend the college, nestled on the St. Mary's River in Southern Maryland.