Projects
Math Department Projects
We believe the learning that happens outside of the classroom is just as important as what happens inside the classroom. That’s why we’re dedicated to furthering the field of mathematics through innovative programming, partnerships and projects. Learn more about our work below.
Current projects
Exercise your body and mind by creating a Math Walk! This is a tour peppered with questions to promote mathematical thinking. Here are some ideas to incorporate into your walk:
- Scavenger hunt: Seek two and three dimensional objects such as circles, polygons, parallel lines, prisms, cylinders, or pyramids.
- Estimate the pitch of a roof, or the height, area, or volume of something.
- Count the number of rectangles (of all sizes) in a large, subdivided window or some other design.
- Look for various symmetries in hubcaps of cars in a parking lot.
The Statistical Consulting Center (SCC) provides free statistical consulting to UNI faculty, staff, and students. This includes assistance with: study design, data collection, data entry, and data analysis. In addition, the SCC offers short courses on software packages, with such courses advertised through Inside UNI announcements. Short courses, workshops, classroom demonstrations or individual sessions on topics in descriptive and inferential statistics may also be available by special request. For a list of upcoming short courses being offered, visit the Statistical Consulting Center.
The SCC operates part-time and is located in WRT 338A. Scheduled appointments are strongly recommended and are available at a wide variety of hours, including weekends and evenings. Appointments can be made by contacting Justine Radunzel at justine.radunzel@uni.edu
Exercise your body and mind by creating a Math Walk! This is a tour peppered with questions to promote mathematical thinking. Here are some ideas to incorporate into your walk:
- Scavenger hunt: Seek two and three dimensional objects such as circles, polygons, parallel lines, prisms, cylinders, or pyramids.
- Estimate the pitch of a roof, or the height, area, or volume of something.
- Count the number of rectangles (of all sizes) in a large, subdivided window or some other design.
- Look for various symmetries in hubcaps of cars in a parking lot.
The Statistical Consulting Center (SCC) provides free statistical consulting to UNI faculty, staff, and students. This includes assistance with: study design, data collection, data entry, and data analysis. In addition, the SCC offers short courses on software packages, with such courses advertised through Inside UNI announcements. Short courses, workshops, classroom demonstrations or individual sessions on topics in descriptive and inferential statistics may also be available by special request. For a list of upcoming short courses being offered, visit the Statistical Consulting Center.
The SCC operates part-time and is located in WRT 338A. Scheduled appointments are strongly recommended and are available at a wide variety of hours, including weekends and evenings. Appointments can be made by contacting Justine Radunzel at justine.radunzel@uni.edu
IINSPIRE LSAMP conference
The Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, referred to as IINSPIRE LSAMP, is a Midwest STEM partnership for innovation in research and education. The alliance is committed to broadening the participation of underrepresented minorities in STEM education in the Midwest. With NSF LSAMP support as a new alliance starting in 2011, significant new initiatives, partnering, and leveraging within and across institutions have led to progress on every campus, including the University of Northern Iowa.
The National Alliance
The Department of Mathematics at UNI is a founding member of the Alliance for the Production of African American Ph.D.'s in the Mathematical Sciences, which was formed in 2001. In 2005, the Alliance expanded its target group to include students from all underrepresented groups in the U.S. The name of the Alliance was changed to the National Alliance for Doctoral Studies in the Mathematical Sciences to reflect the expanded program. In the last few years, the Alliance has gone national, and now includes over 80 colleges and universities across the U.S.
Historical Projects
AGEP at UNI
The Iowa AGEP Program (Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate) is a National Science Foundation funded program consisting of all three Iowa Regency universities: The University of Iowa, Iowa State University and The University of Northern Iowa. The goal of Phase I – also known as Iowa AGEP 1.0 – was to recruit, retain, and graduate a substantial number of underrepresented U.S. minority graduate students in SME fields. Students who were admitted into the UNI MA in (pure) Mathematics track as AGEP fellows, and completed the degree, were encouraged to pursue doctoral studies at one of the Alliance universities. AGEP 1.0 has ended and Iowa AGEP has just received funding from the NSF for an AGEP 1.5 project whose goal is to evaluate the work done in AGEP 1.0. The Iowa AGEP is already planning to apply for an AGEP 2.0 grant.
More information on the Iowa AGEP program is available on the AGEP program website.