Matthew Nickell of Aledo Conducting Mathematics Research at Southwestern University this Summer

GEORGETOWN, TX (06/26/2013)(readMedia)-- Matthew Nickell of Aledo is one of 31 students conducting research at Southwestern University this summer as part of a new student-faculty collaborative research program called SCOPE.

The SCOPE program is part of the HHMI-Southwestern Inquiry Initiative, which is funded by a $1.3 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Students participating in the eight-week program get their housing paid for as well as a stipend.

Nickell is working with Alison Marr, assistant professor of mathematics, on a collection of related unsolved mathematics problems. Nickell, who is a biochemistry major with a minor in computer science, is putting his computer science skills to use writing code to help solve the problems.

Southwestern University is a selective, nationally recognized undergraduate liberal arts college with an enrollment of 1,400 students. It is the oldest institution of higher learning in Texas. For more information on Southwestern, visit www.southwestern.edu.