Research in Industrial Projects for Students (RIPS) 2013

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.

"RIPS was a great learning experience. Not only did I learn about nonlinear dynamical system, which I knew nothing about before the program, but 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).”
-- Huan Zheng (Princeton 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

"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 was such an amazing program. We got to spend our days working on challenging and interesting real world projects and our nights having fun with cool math-loving students from around the world."
-- Laney Kuenzel (Stanford University), RIPS 2009

"In the majority of the undergraduate summer programs, students either do a research in some theoretical field or do an internship in a company. RIPS gave us a unique opportunity to do both at the same time."
-- Vardan Verdiyan (Jacobs University Bremen), RIPS 2010

"RIPS gives you a great opportunity to get out of the theoretical class setting to experience what you are really capable of doing with everything you have learned thus far."
-- Amber Richter (UC Berkeley), RIPS 2010

"The best part of RIPS, in my opinion, was the true applicability of our projects and results. Our industrial sponsors had a genuine interest in our work, and truly benefited from the program."
-- Joseph Durgin (Bowdoin College), RIPS 2011

"Honestly, RIPS has opened my eyes to a lot of career options that I didn’t realize even existed. Having more choices is actually making my decisions harder, but that’s not a bad thing."
-- Margo Smith (Kenyon College), RIPS 2011

"RIPS provides students with the unique opportunity to step out of the classroom and experience how the math you learn is used in many settings. What you experience throughout the program and the skills and tools you gain are of immense value. I never thought I could learn so much about a topic and myself in just nine weeks."
-- Vanessa Rivera Quinones (University of Puerto Rico), RIPS 2012