Math Undergraduate Research Award


LAWRENCE – The Department of Mathematics at the University of Kansas awarded four students Undergraduate Research Awards in Mathematics (MathUGRA) to support their research projects for the spring 2021 semester.

MathUGRAs are $1,000 scholarships provided to math majors pursuing original research or creative projects under the general guidance of a KU math faculty member. The awards are funded by the department’s endowment funds. MathUGRAs are awarded to students conducting semesterlong independent projects culminating in an oral presentation or written work, demonstrating the student’s own development of a topic in mathematics and its applications. Recipients of the award were selected on the merit of the applicant's proposal, the applicant's academic record and the recommendation from a faculty member who is familiar with the applicant and the proposed project. 

Award recipients:

Jonah Berggren, Lenexa senior in mathematics; “Unbounded Matroids,” a research project to understand matroids, i.e., indicator systems of extended 0/1 generalized permutahedra, a class of convex polytopes; research mentor: Jeremy Martin, professor of mathematics.

Jordan Bramble, Leavenworth senior in mathematics, microbiology and pre-medicine; “Infectious Disease Modeling: Implications of Non-Sterilizing but Protective Immunity on Vaccine Application,” a project to construct models capable of capturing the complex biological characteristics of different pathogens and test how the inclusion of a vaccinated class, dependence of the contract rates and probabilities of transmission may influence the success of a vaccine program; research mentor: Mat Johnson, associate professor of mathematics.

Apurva Rai, Mumbai, India, senior in mathematics and computer science; “Analysis of Algebraic Number Theory Factorization Techniques,” a project influenced by Rai's interests in encryption techniques and to implement and explore various factorization methods on a personal computer to explore cryptographic principles and test their security; research mentor: Emily Witt, associate professor of mathematics.

Joseph Wimmergren, St. Michael, Minnesota, senior in mathematics with a minor in physics; “Lugiato-Lefever Equation on the Half-line,” a research project to study the linearized Lugiato-Lefever equation on the half-line to derive an explicit solution formula and to study partial differential equations techniques; research mentor: Dioynyssis Mantzavinos, assistant professor of mathematics.