Governor’s Institute of Vermont in Mathematical Sciences
Beginning with the summer of 1993 and continuing on an annual basis, the Vermont State Mathematics Coalition, in partnership with the University of Vermont and a consortium of sponsors from business, industry, and other organizations in Vermont, sponsored a one week residential Summer Enrichment Institute. This program, held on the University of Vermont campus and led by Ken Gross and Tony Trono, allowed thirty of the most talented secondary students in the state the opportunity to participate in a series of courses and seminars that took them far beyond their experience in high school mathematics and science courses,and engaged them in applications of mathematics and computing to a wide range of scientific and technological endeavors. In previous summers major topics included modern astronomy, dynamical systems and mathematical biology, operations research and decision theory, and statistical simulation. In shorter seminars students were exposed to the mathematics and engineering of pattern recognition, and to probabilistic reasoning. In most courses there has been a heavy emphasis on the use of the computer in mathematical and statistical modeling.
Major changes took place in 2005 in the Mathematics, Science, and Technology High School Summer Enrichment Institute which had been sponsored by the Vermont State Mathematics Coalition for the past thirteen years. Under its new title, “Mathematical Sciences”, it has become one of the components of the Governor’s Institute and was added to seven existing programs in other disciplines as the , Kenneth I. Gross and Tony Trono Mathematical Sciences Institute, in honor of its founders.
Students are chosen to attend the Governor’s Institute in Mathematical Sciences in two ways: Students may apply to the Institute (see giv.org for application information). Directors of the Institute select qualified applicants for attendance, based on mathematics experience and achievement. A second cohort of about 10 students, who earned top scores on the Vermont State Mathematics Coalition Talent Search, receive full scholarships to attend the Institute, granted by the Vermont State Math Coalition.
Programs and schedules and reports from recent past institutes: