VIGRE REU Program

Emily Sutter thought she'd find a typical summer job near home after her first year at Cornell. Instead, Professor Jim Freeman guided her into a mathematics research experience at the University of Iowa in their innovative VIGRE REU program.

Her research team consisted of two other undergraduates, assisted by a graduate student and Professor Yi Li from the University of Iowa. Many similar teams worked on separate projects, providing a rich, collaborative experience.

Sutter's team investigated the dynamics of a single point-like ball on a frictionless, elliptical billiard table with a single pocket. The students wrote a computer program to simulate releasing the ball from many points and angles along the ellipse, noting which initial conditions resulted in the ball never entering the pocket. They hypothesized and found that the attractor for all such initial points appears to be a cantor-like fractal.

"The best aspect of this program was meeting new people who also had a passion for math," Sutter says. "I was learning about math from the professors and from our group research, but I also learned a great deal from the other undergraduate students just by discussing mathematics with them."

Sutter, a math and computer science major, says she was inspired to eventually pursue a doctorate in mathematics.

"Before this program I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after college," she says. "Now, I’m much more excited about math, and I want to take more initiative in learning as much as I can."

Outside class, Sutter lives in a Living Learning Community, Students Together Eradicating Poverty (STEP).  She's also active in the Roman Catholic Community Association, Lunch Buddies, Math Club, and as a student chaplain assistant.