Two Penn State Students Reflect on Experiences in Advanced Mathematics Program

Marc Horn, of Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, and Jeffrey Paulsen, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, were among 18 students selected nationwide to participate in Penn State's elite Mathematics Advanced Study Semesters (MASS) program this academic year. MASS, which accepts undergraduate college students from all over the country, is an intensive program consisting of math classes, seminars, and colloquium-style lectures.

While attending the program full-time, MASS students do not enroll in regular academic classes at Penn State. Instead, they receive 16 honors credits for the semester, which are transferrable to the students' home universities. MASS Director Sergei Tabachnikov said, "The students are literally immersed into mathematical studies. All the academic activities for the semester are specially designed and coordinated to enhance learning and to introduce the students to research in mathematics." Students also may choose to participate in the program part-time, so that they can pursue regular undergraduate work at the same time.

In addition to Horn and Paulsen, two other Penn State students, Timothy Trudell, of Cody, West Virginia, and Michael Willis, of New Brighton, Pennsylvania, also attended MASS full-time with Horn and Paulsen, and four more Penn State students attended the program part-time.

All full-time MASS students are enrolled in three core courses, which are chosen from major topics in algebra, number theory, analysis, geometry, and topology. The classes in the 2003/2004 program were Number Theory with Applications to Communication Networks, Topological Dynamics, and Geometry and Relativity. These classes, taught by Penn State professors and teaching assistants, met for the duration of Penn State's regular fall semester every weekday except Tuesdays, which were reserved for weekly seminars given by Tabachnikov and for lectures by guest speakers. In addition to regular homework assignments, students must complete midterms, final exams, oral presentations, and research projects for each class.

Horn and Paulsen, two students in Penn State's Schreyer Honors College, said the workload was rigorous but not more than they expected. Horn, a sophomore with junior status studying mathematics, said, "It's very intense, and it isn't for everyone. There is a lot of material thrown at you. But MASS is a good gauge for students who are interested in graduate school because it helps them figure out if math is really what they want to do."

Paulsen, a junior studying mathematics and chemistry, said, "It was very challenging. They taught us difficult concepts at a fast pace and made us think in ways that were different from normal class instruction. There was a lot of pressure on the students, but you can't get an experience like that without having to work hard." He added that participating in the MASS program made the undergraduate classes he has taken since the program ended seem much easier. "Now I am confident that I can learn pretty much anything if I'm willing to put enough work into it. After understanding the many initially 'impossible' problems and concepts that were thrown at me at MASS, I've lost the habit of saying, 'I can't do this,' because now I know I can."

Tabachnikov said, "Both Horn and Paulsen did well. They are both very good students, and it was a pleasure to teach them." He said the program receives about 20 applications every year. Students are selected based on their academic record, letters of recommendation, and an essay.

Each fall, Penn State reserves one classroom for MASS participants — the same classroom in which all of their classes, seminars, and lectures take place--that they can access 24 hours a day, every day, for the whole semester, to serve as a computer lab and lounge so that the students have a common place to study together and socialize. "Meeting people with similar interests was great," Paulsen said. "We all connected together, even outside of classes."

Horn said that talking to math students from other schools helped him with his work and allowed him to learn more. "Math is taught differently in various parts of the country. You get new perspectives by meeting other people who have other kinds of experiences and who have done research in math," he said.

Both Horn and Paulsen said they are very grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in the MASS program, but they also are happy to return to their normal Penn State lives. Horn, a member of the national honor society Phi Kappa Phi and the Golden Key International Honor Society, is the secretary of the Penn State Karate Club and practices karate four times a week. Paulsen, also a Golden Key member, is the vice-president of the Penn State Math Club, and in his spare time he does computer networking and plays Ultimate Frisbee. Both work as tutors through the mathematics department's Sperling/Cohen tutoring program.

This summer, Horn will work at Penn State's Applied Research Laboratory, trying to implement a program to use acoustics and sound waves to map and identify materials on the ocean floor. He hopes to simultaneously earn his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in mathematics at Penn State, and then to attend graduate school. After that, he would like to work for the Department of Defense or another defense-related field. Marc is a graduate of Pine-Richland High School near Pittsburgh. He is the son of Don and Sally Horn of Gibsonia.

Paulsen received a $2,000 John and Elizabeth Holmes Teas Scholarship last summer to work on a computer program that simulates gases in extreme conditions where normal gas equations do not apply. The project is part of Paulsen's honors thesis in chemistry; he is also doing research with Tabachnikov for his honors thesis in mathematics. He intends to graduate from Penn State in the spring of 2005, after which he is considering going to graduate school to study chemistry. A graduate of Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg, Jeffrey is the son of Paul and Roseanne Paulsen of Gaithersburg.

CONTACTS:

Marc Horn, mhorn@psu.edu
Jeffrey Paulsen, jlp403@psu.edu
Sergei Tabachnikov, 814-865-6485, tabachni@math.psu.edu