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Outside of class, students may participate in special programs
designed for students studying Mathematics and/or Computer Science.
Students may join the student run Math and CS Club, travel on one
of the several departmentally funded trips to conferences, participate
in research, or take part in other activities offered year-round.
Research and internships are also encouraged by the department and
are often pursued by students during their summer break.
Research Opportunities
The Mathematics and Computer Science Department has a long-standing
tradition of involving students in research. Current research is underway
on developing software for a new robotic platform. These research
efforts include a completely new overall robot design with an impact
on performance in terms of mobility, manipulation, and communication
capabilities, the creation of a software backbone system for sensory
processing and communication among different miniature robots in order
to create an effective robotic team. This work is expected to contribute
to the field of miniature robot design resulting in heterogeneous
robot teams that will be far more effective in tasks such as search/rescue
missions, locating the source of a biological or chemical release,
decontamination and decommissioning efforts, and monitoring highly
sensitive areas of populations, such as elderly or disabled patients
in residential care units. This work has been funded by the National
Science Foundation, Award #0420836 from 2004 to 2008.
More information about research opportunities
in the Department.
Labor in the Department
Following Berea College's commitment to student labor as a means
of learning, the Mathematics and Computer Science Department employs
students to work within its facilities. Student labor positions
in the Department include working as a teaching assistant, tutoring
in the Mathematics and Computer Science Lab, supervising other students,
working as a research assistant, and other jobs that keep the department
functioning.
Travel to Conferences
Several times each year, the Mathematics and Computer Science Department
sponsors a trip to a professional conference. Because of the departmental
commitment to the value of these experiences, the cost to the student
is minimal. The Department has sponsored recent trips to conferences
as close as Eastern Kentucky University and as far away as Chicago.
Internship Opportunities
An internship is an opportunity to gain valuable work experience
in an applied setting. Internships are supervised both within the
work setting and by a faculty member who is knowledgeable in the
discipline related to the internship. Internships typically take
place during Short Term or Summer Term. For example, over the last
several years several Berea Computer Science students have been
involved in Technical Internships with the Letcher County Fiscal
Court. The summer 2005 Berea College interns will survey all county
agencies holding public data, inventory the data for accuracy, and
advise the county on how the data can be shared by establishing
a centralize computer database. These interns will also digitize
the aerial photography recently obtained by the 911 office and work
with the Kentucky River Area Development District to overlay the
photographs onto existing map files. The interns will also work
with the Sheriff’s office in establishing a Citizen’s
Watch organization.
Visiting Lecturers
Each year the Mathematics and Computer Science Department invites
several outside lectures on a variety of topics running the gamut
in the mathematical sciences. Recent invited talks have been on
graphical techniques of image recovery and optimizing algorithms
in parallel processing.
Each year at homecoming time the Mathematics and Computer Science
Department holds two special events: The Friday afternoon Homecoming
Alumni Lecture in which a departmental alumni returns to give
an invited talk and the Saturday afternoon Homecoming
Alumni Panel Discussion which is a formal opportunity for alumni
to return to discuss their work experiences with current students
and to offer some observations and advice.
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