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Contact Jo Procter, college news director; phone: (413) 597-4279; e-mail Jo.Procter@williams.edu

Summer Program in Mathematics Wins New NSF Support

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., May 29, 2009 -- The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Williams College a five-year $630,216 grant in support of "SMALL," a summer undergraduate research program in math. The SMALL program also received NSF funding in July 2004.

The SMALL projects for 2009 include commutative algebra, geometry (in Granada, Spain), knot theory, number and random matrix theory, and virtual knot theory.

Despite its name, SMALL is one of the largest programs of its kind in the United States.  The program offers talented undergraduates a nine-week opportunity to investigate research problems in mathematics. Students work in small groups directed by individual faculty members. Since the program was founded in 1988, over 375 young mathematicians have participated.

Williams College mathematics professors Susan R. Loepp and Cesar E. Silva, who co-direct the program, point to the collaborative environment encouraged by SMALL that enables students to do innovative work.

Many students in the program have gone on to publish papers and present talks at academic conferences, based on their SMALL work. SMALL professor-student collaborations have been published in the Pacific Journal of Mathematics, the Journal of Knot Theory and its Ramifications, and the Transactions of the American Mathematical Society, among others.

Silva's research interests include ergodic theory and measurable dynamics. His research has been published in numerous academic and professional journals. He is the author of "Invitation to Ergodic Theory" (2008). At Williams, Silva teaches Calculus, Real Analysis, and Ergodic Theory. He received his B.S. from the Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru and his Ph.D. from the University of Rochester.

Loepp's field of research is commutative algebra. Her research has been published in The Journal of Algebra, The Journal of Pure and Applied Algebra, and Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society, among others. This year, Loepp taught Multivariable Calculus and Protecting Information: Applications of Abstract Algebra and Quantum Physics. Loepp received her B.A. from Bethel College and her Ph.D. in 1994 from the University of Texas at Austin.

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Williams College is consistently ranked one of the nation's top liberal arts colleges. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in this research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment, which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted. Founded in 1793, it is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college is located in Williamstown, Mass. To visit the college on the Internet: www.williams.edu

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