University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Mathematics
Program ID:
Program Title:
Geometry Topology REU at UCLA 2025
Program Type:
Undergraduate program
Program Location:
Los Angeles, California 90095, United States of America
Subject Area:
Geometry and Topology
Application Deadline:
2025/03/15 11:59PM
(posted 2025/02/07)
(posted 2025/02/07)Program Description:
program Description
The REU is a six-week summer program offered by the Geometry and Topology group at UCLA and is funded by an NSF Research and Training Grant (RTG).Topic: In 2025, the research topic will be Quantum Topology of Knots and Links. This program provides students with the opportunity to immerse themselves in active research projects in Quantum Topology, under the mentorship of senior and junior researchers in the field. During the final week of the program, students will showcase the results of their research through a written report and an oral presentation. During the project, students may also be asked to write code. The mentors will outline the expected outcomes at the beginning of the summer and will work closely with the students to ensure the successful completion of the final project. In addition to hands-on research, the REU will feature informative sessions run by the mentors and other researchers on career-development topics, such as how to do research in mathematics, career prospects in mathematics, preparing for graduate school, and writing graduate-school applications.
Applicants:
- The students must be US citizens or US permanent residents (green card holders). The program is being funded by an NSF grant and this is one of the grant requirements.
- The REU is designed to be local in nature, so the students must be living in the greater Los Angeles region and be able to commute to the UCLA campus.
- The REU is only open to undergraduate students, so students should not have already received their Bachelors degree at the time of the REU.
Date and Location: In 2025, the program dates are Monday, August 4 through Friday, September 12. The expected workload is 40hr/week for 6 weeks. The REU program will be conducted in a hybrid format, requiring participants to be physically present in Los Angeles and available during business hours (9 AM – 4 PM) to fully participate. Some weekdays will use a remote format with Zoom.
Funding: Each student will be provided a $5000 stipend for 6 weeks of REU at the end of the program. No additional funding is available for lodging or transportation. Because the students are supposed to be local, they are expected to commute to campus.
Mentors: In 2025, the REU mentors are Vijay Higgins (RTG postdoctoral scholar, UCLA), Roman Krutowski (Ph.D. student, UCLA), Jung Joo Suh (Ph.D. student, UCLA), and Yan Tao (Ph.D. student, UCLA). The program will be overseen by Ko Honda (Professor, UCLA).
Schedule: The tentative schedule is as follows:
- Week 1-2: Background on quantum topology of knots and links
- Week 3-4: Start working on project(s)
- Week 5: Start wrapping up project(s)
- Week 6: Present the results in both a written report and an oral presentation
Application Materials Required:
- Submit the following items online at this website to complete your application:
- Curriculum Vitae
- Unofficial College Transcript
- Reference letter (to be submitted online by the reference writers on this site )
- And anything else requested in the program description.
Further Info: