3. Postdoctoral Program - MSRI

school in mathematics.” They provided insights on selecting a graduate department and
succeeding in it.
A presentations workshop was conducted to share information about the three ways that
students were preparing to communicate their summer’s work—on a poster, in oral presentation,
and in written technical report. Student teams were assigned selected readings on each method
and asked to prepare for the group at large. Though the workshop was somewhat valuable,
feedback from the student evaluations suggest that it was less helpful than the others, so in future
summers it may be better to improve this panel or discard it for a mathematics career or
professional panel.
12. Recreational/Cultural Activities
In addition to all the academic activities described above, MSRI-UP students were treated to
several recreational activities. These included visits to nearby San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and
Marin County, an Oakland Athletics baseball game, and a kayaking excursion on the Oakland
estuary. These carefully-planned recreational and cultural activities were essential to MSRI-UP’s
success, as they gave students the opportunity to put mathematics aside for a few hours so that
they could come back later to their work with renewed vigor: They also helped to build the
MSRI-UP mentored community, as all staff participated in the activities with the students.
13. Program Evaluation During MSRI-UP
Informal formative evaluation in the program started the first day of the program through
conversations with students and staff. Frequently during the program, Professor Cooper met
individually with each one of the students and staff of the program, conducting extensive
discussions with Professor Goins to learn about and share opinions regarding the research
component. During the meetings with staff and students, the Director had the opportunity to have
more close contact with the students and staff, to listen to individual concerns, and to provide
individual mentoring to the students. The staff’s close interaction—especially the graduate
assistants—with the students enabled them to gather informal feedback that also led to
adjustments to improve the program.
The program staff had regular weekly meetings to discuss individual and group progress,
and they held several impromptu lunch or other daytime meetings as issues arose that would
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