Signing up for summer school

The Department of Mathematics in the Faculty of Arts and Science welcomed some of the top math minds from across North America and Europe and Asia to participate in the first ever Queen’s Mathematics Summer School.

Thanks to a generous donation to the department, 75 students participated in a week of lectures provided by faculty members. These included Maria Teresa Chiri, Bahman Gharesifard, Mike Roth, and Zachary Selk. The students who attended were fourth year students, Masters students, and first year PhD students.

“The idea behind the summer school was to teach topics not always covered in the typical mathematics curriculum,” says Dr. Chiri. “It’s also a way to showcase our department and demonstrate the type of research taking place, both from the applied and technical perspective and, perhaps, attract students to attend Queen’s.”

Dr. Chiri explains there was a meticulous application process – prospective attendees had to submit a CV, their course transcript, and a reference letter from one of their professors. “There were so many applications we were very selective based on course grades and their academic work.”

Department head Troy Day says they would like to continue running the summer school every year. “The caliber of the students is remarkable. They range from young, we have one high school student attending, all the way to graduate level students. The topics are also very diverse so I hope the main thing they come away with is an appreciation for math, in all of its forms. And I want them to realize Queen’s is an interesting place to come, do research, and continue their studies.”