Research in Industrial Projects for Students (RIPS) 2009

Comments From RIPS Students

Past RIPS students have a lot to say about their projects, working on a team, learning about other cultures, and life in Los Angeles. While each student has a slightly different experience, they all agree that RIPS is unique among summer research opportunities and has introduced them to industrial applications of math. Visit the RIPS2008 web page to read more about last year's program.

"RIPS2003 has been an amazing way to spend my summer. The campus is absolutely amazing with so much to do such as tennis, basketball, swimming, Mercedes Benz cup, badminton, a full gym, and even movies being filmed! RIPS wasn't all fun and games though, we did serious work but enjoyed it all. The atmosphere at IPAM is very relaxed. We could come to work as early (or late) as we wanted and leave as early (or late) as we wanted. It is truly an exciting atmosphere in which you can use the level set method and then talk to the person who invented it. Even while we were at work, we definitely had fun with antics such as office chair races."
-- Neil Kumar (University of Southern California), RIPS 2003

"It (RIPS 2004) was a great learning experience. Not only did I learn about nonlinear dynamical system, which I knew nothing about before the program but am now considering for graduate studies. I also made lots of good friends from around the world (there are very few REU programs in which one gets to interact with students from foreign institutions). There were also lots of emphasis on how to efficiently pace the work, how to communicate technical contents effectively via writing and presentations. From my 3 years of REU experience (first two at Princeton) this is the most well-organized program I've participated."
-- Huan Zheng (Princeton University), RIPS 2004

"At IPAM I was exposed to a new field of mathematics: image processing, while I was working on my project offered by Los Alamos National Lab. I was not decided on a specific research interest, so I could freely devote myself to that area of mathematics. After RIPS I became very interested in image processing problems and this year I will participate in a summer program at LANL and I will do research in image/high-dimensional data analysis."
-- Valentina Staneva (Concord University), RIPS 2004

"The program allows for a productive, yet fun summer. It is a lot of fun to be surrounded by people who share the same enthusiasm for math. I will never forget my time at IPAM."
-- Cassondra Bluemel (UC Berkeley), RIPS 2005

"RIPS is such an incredible experience. It allowed me to have a taste of applied math without having to make a drastic life choice. Furthermore, it has helped me grow immensely, not only professionally and intellectually, but also socially. It has been a once in a lifetime opportunity."
-- Margarita Echavarria (Cornell University), RIPS 2006

"I was impressed by the enthusiasm of the participants. I was used to being the only person crazy enough to hang around late at night working on things, but at RIPS a lot of others were like that too. I got to do real work in the field of computer vision and I could go on about that more, but the most important aspect of RIPS was the environment created by the IPAM staff. They provided me with the opportunity to really show what I am capable of."
-- Efrem Rensi (San Jose State University), RIPS 2006

"I definitely learned a lot, not only about the subject of my research but about all the other teams’ projects too. The collaborative atmosphere is great, I could learn about so many interesting projects all at the same time just by going to tea time."
-- Katherine Hoff (MIT), RIPS 2007

"I learned an incredible amount during my nine weeks at IPAM – and not only math. I learned how to work in a team, investigated wavelets, became exposed to image processing and improved my programming."
-- Shaun Maguire (Stanford), RIPS 2007

"My project proved how mathematics concepts could be applied to a large palette of real life problems. The tasks were pretty challenging, and at first you may not even be familiar with the topic (that was my case). But somehow your mind adjusts and it’s actually amazing to see yourself, your teammates and others come up with all types of interesting ideas. Another group work may even be inspiring for yours. Working in teams allows developing communication skills, or at least realizing the need to develop them. You really learn the value of team effort."
-- Karamatou Yacoubou Djima (College of Staten Island, CUNY), RIPS 2007

"Overall, I was quite impressed with RIPS. I’ve learned a TON in nine weeks about graph theory and managing an international research team, and I’ve had a blast doing it."
-- Michael Hughes (Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering), RIPS 2008

"I would definitely recommend RIPS to undergraduates interested in research. One of the greatest aspects of the program, in my opinion, is that we are given full control over the direction of our projects, and also are potentially working on high-impact projects."
-- Shagnik Das (University of Cambridge), RIPS 2008

"RIPS is a great way to get hands on experience of how mathematics is used in a wide range of industries: from virus detection, to space studies, to biology projects. It was an exciting, valuable summer."
-- Melanie Kanter (Stanford University),RIPS 2008