Undergraduate Research Assistantship

Undergraduate Research Assistantship

Why undergraduate research?

Undergraduate Research Assistants (URAs) explore areas of mathematics that are not typically taught in a classroom setting while also refining their communication skills. Students that participate in undergraduate research gain...

upper division credit
resume worth experience
strong letters of recommendation
better preparation for graduate-level research
invitations to travel to conference like SUnMaRC
the opportunity to win prizes at conferences like the UA Student Showcase
the opportunity to publish research in scholarly journals

...and much more!

For questions please email program coordinator Sergey Cherkis.

How do I get involved?

Follow the steps below!

Step 1: Learn about undergraduate research.

The following is a list of ways students can learn about undergraduate research opportunities.

Students can also talk to an Undergraduate Research Ambassador. URAs can help you find individual research opportunities or research-based classes to help you build critical skills. They can also present research opportunities to your class, group, or club.
Enroll in DATA/MATH 395M - Career Exploration in Mathematics and Data Science
If you have a particular project in mind but don’t know which faculty member(s) to approach with the idea, the URA Program Coordinator will be glad to help you locate an appropriate faculty member, and the friendly advisors in the Math Center will be equally happy to assist you.

Step 2: Start thinking about project ideas.

This list is not exhaustive - If a project has not been been updated in a long time, check a professor's homepage to see what they've been working on most recently.

Name	Research Area(s)	Prerequisites	Honors Thesis? *	URA for Credit?	URA for Pay? **	Last Updated
Adi Adiredja	Mathematics education; teacher noticing; equitable teaching practices; community learning; the teaching and learning of linear algebra; socio-politics of mathematics education in Indonesia	Interest and awareness of diversity, equity, and inclusivity; Interest in issues related to the teaching and learning of mathematics; Math 313, specific for the linear algebra project; Proficiency in Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia), specific for the Indonesian narrative project.	Yes	Yes	Ask	10/3/2023
Moysey Brio	Numerical Simulation of Waves in Optics, fluids and solids.	introductory numerical analysis, basic physics/optics and computer programming.	Yes	Yes	No	9/7/2021
Rossana Capuani	Multiagent systems Mean Field Games and control theory PDEs in connection with Mean field games Optimal control Theory Optimal Transportation Traffic problems in operations research	Math 254, Math 335, Math 454,	Yes	Yes	No	10/3/2023
Ibrahim Fatkullin	statistical mechanics, artificial intelligence, computer graphics	ability to program	Yes	Yes	No	8/16/2022
Karl Glasner	Pattern formation on graphs.	ODEs, Linear Algebra, experience with MATLAB. Ideally one or more of: Graph Theory (math 443), Dynamical Systems (math454), PDEs (math456), Numerical Methods (math475)	Yes	Yes	Ask	1/17/2017
Karl Glasner	Dynamics of self assembly at the nanoscale.	ODEs, some experience with MATLAB. Ideally one or more of: Dynamical Systems (math454), PDEs (math456), Numerical Methods (math475).	Yes	Yes	Ask	1/17/2017
David Glickenstein	Developing computer software to visualize abstract geometries and polyhedral geometries (like the dodecahedron). Study of differential equations that deform arbitrary embeddings of graphs into "nice" embeddings for graphs.	Basic linear algebra, differential equations. Topology can be a plus, but not necessary. General mathematical sophistication. Some computer science/programming background is a plus.	Yes	Yes	Yes	9/17/2012
Doug Haessig	Mainly number theory, although I have worked with undergrads on a variety of topics outside of number theory.	None	Yes	Yes	No	8/25/22
Christopher Henderson	Analysis of partial differential equations (PDE) and/or ordinary differential equations related to PDE	Math 313, Math 355, perhaps a bit of coding, Math 425 is a plus	Yes	Yes	Ask	8/16/2022
Yi Hu	Geometry: Study the space of three and four point configurations on the (projective) plane.	good command of Linear Algebra	Yes	Yes	Ask	1/3/2017
Tom Kennedy	Self-avoiding random walks.	Math 464. Some programming experience would be helpful, but not required.	Yes	Yes	Yes	12/2/2018
Kevin Lin	Nonlinear dynamics; Monte Carlo methods; machine learning.	Minimum prerequisites are the calculus sequence, linear algebra (313), and differential equations (254 or 355). Some probability (363 or higher) a bonus, and 464 and/or 454 would be great but not required. Programming ability or willingness to learn by doing a must.	Yes	Yes	Maybe	9/2/2021
Klaus Lux	Computational Group Theory; Computer Algebra	413 Linear Algebra or 415A Abstract Algebra	Yes	Yes	Maybe	9/18/2012
Joanna Masel	evolutionary theory; bioinformatic studies of protein evolution or molecular error rates	Some programming experience required (C and/or Python preferred). Knowledge of probability & statistics, and/or biology preferred but not required.	Yes	Yes	Ask	10/3/2023
John Peca-Medlin	Random matrix theory (general theory, modeling applications)	Undergrad probability sequence, measure theory (intro level), basic coding (e.g., MATLAB, python, Julia)	Yes	Yes	No	8/25/2022
Douglas Pickrell	Power series identities; conformal mappings; random self-avoiding loops and random surfaces	Linear algebra, complex variables, and basic probability, respectively	Yes	Yes	No	10/3/2023
Walter Piegorsch	Statistical inference; Quantitative risk analysis	MATH 466; DATA 467	Yes	Yes	No	9/2/2021
Henry Scharf	Bayesian hierarchical models; ecological applications of statistics; data visualization	DATA 375 or strong experience with R; MATH 464 and 466; DATA 467 is helpful	Yes	Yes	Yes	12/04/2023
Patrick Shipman	topological data analysis; applied modeling and differential equations in (bio)chemistry and physics with the option to do experimental laboratory work with plant pigments; complex variables and differential geometry; continued fraction expansions and projective geometry; pattern formation	Varied requirements depending on the project, so please contact me if interested in a topic.	Yes	Yes	No	10/3/2023
Robert Sims	(sabbatical 2023-24 - not available) Mathematical Physics.	Linear Algebra and Differential Equations	Yes	Yes	No	8/16/2022
Doug Ulmer	Number theory, algebraic geometry, possibly cryptography.	Abstract algebra required. Some geometry and/or complex analysis would be helpful.	Yes	Yes	Yes	9/2/2021
Aparna Upadhyay	Group Theory; Representation Theory, Combinatorics	Math 313, Math 323, Math 415A	Yes	Yes	No	9/9/2022
Shankar Venkataramani	Differential equations and modeling physical phenomena; Geometry and applications; Problems in Complex analysis	Math 254/Math 355 (for Differential equations); Math 323 (for all the problems); MATH 425 (for Complex analysis).	Yes	Yes	Yes	9/12/2014
Pan Yan	Number Theory; Representation Theory	linear algebra (Math 413) and abstract algebra (Math 415A)	Yes	Yes	Ask	10/3/2023
Hang Xue	Number Theory, Representation Theory	solid background in linear algebra and abstract algebra	Yes	Yes	No	8/16/2022
Helen Zhang	Statistics, Machine Learning	MATH 466, DATA 467	Yes	Yes	No	11/30/2023

*Honors Thesis MATH 498H credit available to students in the Honors College.

**Restrictions may apply. Ask the individual faculty member for details.

Step 3: Find a faculty mentor.

There are several ways to go about this. You may have already found a faculty member to reach out to via the list of projects under Step 2, but if not, here's what you can do.

The University of Arizona Undergraduate Research website provides information on faculty looking to work with undergraduate students.
Have a favorite professor? Ask him/her about their area of research. If it sounds interesting, find out if there might be a way for you to participate.
If you already have one or more faculty members in mind but are unsure if they're taking on undergraduate researchers or you aren't particularly interested in their current research, simpy approach the faculty member(s) to discuss possibilities.
If you have a particular project in mind but don’t know which faculty member(s) to approach with the idea, the URA Program Coordinator will be glad to help you locate an appropriate faculty member, and the friendly advisors in the Math Center will be equally happy to assist you.

Step 4: Setting up your project.

There are a lot of ways to contact potential faculty mentors. Unless you know the faculty member, email is usually best. If you are sending emails to faculty to inquire about research opportunities, make sure you demonstrate in your email that you have looked at the professor's web page and have interest in their specific research area. If you haven't bothered to do any research on their work, they will not take your inquiry seriously. For additional advice and email templates, check out the UA Undergraduate Research website. There are also some good guidelines and examples here.

Step 5: Earning Credit

If you will be earning credit for your URA experience, you will need to register through the math department Academic Office (Mathematics Building Room 108); there is a special form needed. The form requires a description of the work to be done, and signatures from your project advisor and major advisor. If your faculty mentor has funding to pay you, he/she will work with our Business Office to help you set this up.

Step 6: Optional

Honors College students are eligible to apply for grant funding (up to $1500) to pay for their time spent on independent research through the Spirit of Inquiry Research Program.

Smaller grants may be available through the Graduate College for undergraduate students. Learn more on their website.

Undergraduate Research Assistantship