Undergraduate Mathematics Summer Research Projects: Presentation Day

Each year, the School of Mathematics runs undergraduate summer research projects, which give our undergraduate students opportunities to explore and experience a taste of research in the mathematical sciences. Working under academic supervisors from the School, students have completed projects across a wide range of topics, from topology and group theory, to statistics and dynamical systems.

In the 2022-23 round, directed by Dr Yuzhao Wang, 20 School of Maths students across the B15 campus and the Jinan-Birmingham Joint Institute (J-BJI) completed summer research projects in mathematics, with eight out of the 20 projects being undertaken by female students. Of the students based in the UK, three were successfully supported by the London Mathematical Society Undergraduate Research Bursary scheme, jointly with the School of Mathematics.

A presentation day was held on 31 October 2023 to share some of the experiences and findings of students who completed summer projects during the summer of 2023. In particular, we heard the following presentations:

• Zirui Feng (J-BJI): "On data reliability of the Bradley-Terry model", supervised by Dr Rowland Seymour
• Yuzhong Chen and Jinglong Yao (J-BJI): "Survey on the effect of COVID-19 on Chinese customers’ choice of shopping channels for daily necessities", supervised by Dr Jia Shao
• Thomas Munn (B15): "An Introduction to Knot Theory", supervised by Professor Sergey Shpectorov
• Eoghan Farrell (B15): "Regular Geometric shapes and related group theory", supervised by Professor Sergey Shpectorov
• Daniel Holland (B15): "Periodic Solutions in Opinion Dynamics", supervised by Dr Galane Luo

The 2023-24 round of projects will open soon (announcements to follow), and we strongly encourage students from backgrounds that are typically underrepresented in mathematics (e.g., but not limited to, students with disabilities, students from ethnic minority backgrounds, female and non-binary students, first-generation students, students from the LGBTQ+ community) to apply. For further information about the 2023-24 round of projects, please contact Dr Stacey Law.