{"id":393,"date":"2015-12-13T11:00:58","date_gmt":"2015-12-13T11:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sunypoly.edu\/stories\/?p=393"},"modified":"2025-10-30T14:32:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T18:32:19","slug":"not-your-average-boot-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp.sunypoly.edu\/stories\/not-your-average-boot-camp\/","title":{"rendered":"Not Your Average Boot Camp!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Computational Boot Camp \u201915 & the SUNY STEM Passport Program<\/h2>\n

A dozen students from SUNY Poly, SUNY Poly\u2019s CNSE, Stony Brook University, SUNY Buffalo,\u00a0and University of Albany convened at SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Utica this summer for a\u00a0boot camp unlike any other.<\/p>\n

The two-week computational boot camp, led by SUNY Poly faculty members Andrea Dziubek,\u00a0Edmond Rusjan, and William Thistleton, guided students through a series of exercises in high-level calculus and computational methods. In an intentionally fun, hands-on, and intimate\u00a0setting, the engineering, computer science, and applied mathematics students gained not only\u00a0knowledge fundamental to their field of study but also new friends and close faculty mentors.<\/p>\n

Several students who participated in the Computational Boot Camp, as well as the SUNY STEM\u00a0Research Passport program (a ten-week research opportunity for undergrads under the\u00a0guidance of a faculty mentor<\/em>), shared their experiences of this rare opportunity.<\/p>\n

Misha Yermakov, Nanoscale Engineering \u201918
\n<\/strong>Misha, a sophomore at SUNY Poly CNSE, participated in the boot camp as well as the research\u00a0project titled Geometry and Symmetry based Mathematical and Computational Methods for\u00a0Partial Differential Equations, led by faculty member Andrea Dziubek.<\/p>\n

The research focused on comparing discrete exterior calculus and finite elements for some toy\u00a0examples, understanding the discrete divergence operator and other operators of the basic\u00a0equations of fluids, mechanics, and electromagnetism, and implementing discrete exterior\u00a0calculus routines for problems on curved surfaces.<\/p>\n

Misha says the goal was to learn more about mathematics.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I had a year of mathematics,\u201d he said when reflecting on his experience. \u201cLast\u00a0summer I worked on a project at SUNY Poly CNSE that was more quantitative. I tried to read\u00a0some of the related papers but they were all about partial differential equations and I could not\u00a0understand them. Now I can try to read them.\u201d<\/p>\n

He went on to explain numerical methods, how to approach initial value problems, and\u00a0boundary value problems. Working as a student researcher for Geometry and Symmetry based\u00a0Mathematical and Computational Methods for Partial Differential Equations, Misha does admit\u00a0he was a little nervous at first.<\/p>\n

\u201cAndrea was my first choice (for a research project) but I was a little scared about living up to\u00a0her expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Misha took hold of that fear, turning it into adrenaline and ambition that allowed him to truly\u00a0enjoy challenging himself during the project.<\/p>\n

Ariel Ordonez, SUNY Buffalo \u201917
\n<\/strong>A student at SUNY Buffalo, Ariel participated in the boot camp as well as the research project\u00a0titled Mathematical Modeling of Blood Flow in the Retina of the Eye, lead by Edmond Rusjan.<\/p>\n

The research focused on the development, analysis and verification of mathematical models as\u00a0it relates to blood flow in the retina of the eye. The impact of such research is vast, with the\u00a0potential to advance our understanding of various eye pathologies and help improve existing\u00a0treatments and discover new treatments.<\/p>\n

Ariel says he initially applied for Rusjan\u2019s SUNY STEM Research Passport project because he\u00a0wanted to get away during the summer. Initially thinking he would \u201cjust give it a try,\u201d Ariel soon\u00a0found himself amid what he calls an incredible summer experience.<\/p>\n

His research project included looking into the PyDEC Python Package and trying to get a basic\u00a0foundation. He had to understand how to manipulate the program and the \u201csimplicial complex,\u201d\u00a0a topological space of a certain kind, constructed by “gluing together” points, line segments,\u00a0triangles, and their n-dimensional counterparts.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeaving the program, I gained friends and I ended up doubling into Calculus III and Differential\u00a0Equations and into Partial Differential Equations,\u201d he said. \u201cI gained a lot of intuition for higher\u00a0mathematics and I believe I gained a lot of discipline.\u201d<\/p>\n

The incredibly positive experience Ariel had during his SUNY STEM Research Passport project\u00a0has left him hoping for the chance to take part in another such program next year. He\u00a0encourages freshmen and sophomores to participate as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cRead through every description because you may find something that interests you, and you\u00a0may have the qualifications.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul Lastowicka, Applied Mathematics & Computer Science \u201915
\n<\/strong>As a recent SUNY Poly graduate and double major in applied mathematics and computer\u00a0science, Paul was able to assist faculty with the Computational Boot Camp, helping while also\u00a0learning more about numerical mathematics, an important interest for his graduate studies.<\/p>\n

During the Boot Camp, Paul dove head first into FEniCS and finite element software, learning\u00a0about solving beams. His biggest takeaway from the Boot Camp, Paul says, was finite\u00a0elements, how to do it in higher order, as well as making new friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe faculty is great! You actually learn things, the courses are pretty diverse and it is a smaller\u00a0school so you know the professors.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nDaniel Yaciuk, Applied Mathematics & Civil Engineering Technology \u201914
\n<\/strong>Daniel, also a recent SUNY Poly graduate, double majored in applied mathematics and civil\u00a0engineering technology.<\/p>\n

He assisted with the Computational Boot Camp and research projects, gaining experience\u00a0writing research papers using Latex, a word-processing program specifically for research\u00a0papers. His mind was also opened up, he says, to concepts of physics and math he had never\u00a0been exposed to before.<\/p>\n

Anvesh Mateti, Nanoscale Engineering \u201918
\n<\/strong>Anvesh Mateti, a sophomore from SUNY Poly CNSE, liked the Boot Camp so much that he\u00a0decided to join our summer research activities and to work with us (at his own expense<\/em>).<\/p>\n

More about the SUNY STEM Research Passport Program
\n<\/strong>The SUNY STEM Research Passport Program provides undergraduate students from across\u00a0the SUNY system with ten-week research opportunities in which they perform research under\u00a0the guidance of a SUNY faculty mentor.<\/p>\n

SUNY Poly faculty members participating in the 2015 SUNY STEM Research Passport:<\/p>\n