Meet the next generation of math researchers
What does it feel like to do real math research while you’re still in high school?
Through the seed2STEM Summer Research Program, Indigenous high school students get the chance to find out! Seed2STEM is a six-week summer program where students work alongside university faculty and graduate students to work on research projects. They also take part in group activities, attend lectures by guest speakers, and visit scientific and cultural places of interest on field trips.
At UBC Mathematics, three students worked alongside professors and graduate students (Deep Shah and Chenfeng Xu) to learn more about mathematical research. Meet two of the students and learn why they applied for the program, their research experience, what they discovered, and how their time in math research has shaped their interests and goals.
What inspired you to apply for the seed2STEM Summer Research Program?
Levi: I did the program last summer, and it was such a fun time. Not only did I get to live in Vancouver (I'm from a small town), but I also got to meet professors and students at the university I wanted to go to and meet some other amazing young Indigenous scientists that I'm lucky to call friends. I'm so happy I got to do it again this summer, especially with a focus on math!
Luke: I first heard about Seed2STEM through an email. I didn’t have any plans for the summer and thought it’d be a fun experience. I was really interested in the internship part of the program as I’d never done anything of the sort before. What inspired me most about the program however, was the fact that I’d get to learn more about indigenous cultures and get some experience.
Tell Us about the research project you worked on.
Levi: My project was packaging a toolbox of level set methods for more accessible use on Octave, MATLAB, and Github. Basically, level-set methods are a way of simulating surfaces and objects that move and change with time. My project was taking a toolbox with a bunch of examples of level set methods that Dr. Ian Mitchell created in the early 2000s and attempting to make it easier to install and use for anyone interested in seeing what it does.
Luke: The research project that I worked on was a small task on a big project that’s been worked on by many people. It involved working to improve specialized personalized feedback reports given to students after midterms.
What was the most valuable thing you learned during the program?
Levi: The number one skill I learned this summer was persistence. Sometimes I felt like that Greek myth of the guy who kept pushing a boulder up a hill, only for it to fall down and he'd have to go and bring it up again. Even when it doesn't look or feel like you're making progress, you keep pushing, and eventually, like I did, you'll get a result that actually works! And that is the most satisfying feeling ever.
Luke: The most valuable thing I learned was the massive scope that outwardly simple-looking projects can have. The scale of Plom, the program that I worked on, was many times bigger than I’d ever imagined it could be for something that sounded to be simple on paper. Seeing how different people took different approaches or just hardcoded some features years ago taught me that scope creep can be a big issue on both professional and personal projects.
Was there a particular moment or experience during the summer that stood out to you or changed the way you think about research or STEM?
Levi: A lot of the "research" I was doing was mostly learning and building skills for my future self. Research doesn't always have to be groundbreaking or a new dimension or anything like that. It can be making an already-developed program just a little bit better, or reading a bunch of textbooks and papers to help other people understand them. If you like learning, research is definitely for you!
Luke: Seeing how multiple people had different ideas and preferences with how a program would develop really stood out to me. I’d assumed beforehand that once you get past high school/university, people would just be on the same page about how projects should go. Now, witnessing the nuances and direction some projects are required to go, I have learned that communication is really important.
How has participating in seed2STEM influenced your academic or career goals?
Levi: Before Seed2STEM, I knew I wanted to go to university, but I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do. This program (especially in the math department for me!) definitely made me understand that I want to do research and help other people do research too.
Luke: Being able to see how people collaborate and help each other has made me interested in coding as something to study because the people I’ve met are so supportive. I’ve always preferred the pure numbers part of mathematics and, to an extent, computers, but being able to see how a coding project develops has inspired me to be more interested in how the two interact.
What would you say to A student who is thinking about applying to the seed2STEM Summer Research Program?
Levi: It's six weeks, a relatively short commitment; you get to meet people, learn firsthand in a lab, and have fun in the big city. And they pay you! Give it a shot; you won't regret it.
Luke: I’d say that this program is really focused on learning, and while results from what you’re doing are important, it’s not the end goal. The point of this program above all is to try new things and learn.