Welcome to UNCW Summer Ventures. This 4 week research intensive program provides students the opportunity to engage in the science and mathematics research process. UNCW courses highlight areas of STEM and research at our campus. Students will have the pleasure and privilege of working with some of our most innovative faculty on collaborative research projects. So, take a deep breath and get ready to “dive in” to Summer Ventures at UNCW.
-Ms. Erin Moran, Director for Summer Ventures at UNCW
Summer Ventures is open to North Carolina students in the sophomore and junior year of high school. Participants apply to join summer ventures in the Fall with a deadline in mid-Janauary. Students apply to summer ventures as a state program. Accepted students are placed at one of the 4 campuses that host the program. Campuses inlcude App State, University North Carolina Charlotte, East Carolina University, and University North Carolina Wilmington.
Summer 2023 planning is under way for this years 4 week UNCW Summer Ventures programing in person.
When: Sunday, June 25 to Saturday, July 22
This course is an introduction to applications of mathematical concepts in developing, analyzing, and simulating deterministic biological models. Mathematical methods may include continuous and discrete modeling in terms of non-linear differential equations and difference equations. Biological applications may include population dynamics, ecology, Epidemiology, evolution, molecular biology, and physiology. We will first study some of the fundamental mathematics topics that students will encounter in college-level differential equations and linear algebra courses (after calculus). More importantly, we will explore the relevance of differential/difference equations to real-life problems and get students trained with the discrete and continuous modeling process in biology and ecology. Through literature reading, problem sets, Maple projects, and group discussions, students will 1) have a thorough understanding of classical models and their variations, 2) attain a skillful mastery of the linearization and phase-plane methods as well as the stability analysis for differential and difference equations, 3) learn some basic numerical packages for analysis and simulations, 4) reach conclusions concerning selected biological questions through a final paper on developed mathematical model, using the concepts and methods learned.
The coast is constantly changing in many ways, including physical, geomorphological, chemical, and biological and it is crucial that we understand these changes. What happens on the coasts affects us in many ways, from how we recreate (like going to the beach and surfing) to how we get our food (like fishing and oyster farming) to how we protect ourselves (from storms and even sunny day flooding), for example. Students will develop sensors that they will deploy in the field (the nearby intracoastal waterway and tidal creeks) via small boats and kayaks in order to study these changes. Sensor development for coastal research requires an eagerness to learn interdisciplinary sciences and engineering disciplines in order to understand the phenomena of interest as well as the tools and techniques used to study them. We will teach and utilize computer science and engineering, electrical, environmental, and mechanical engineering techniques to build novel technologies and determine ways to deploy them in the coastal ocean in order to capture the most interesting and important signals of change.