User:Maxblack45

Project Description

I am researching (i,j)-step competition graphs while attending the ten-week Marquette REU; my mentor is Dr. Kim A.S. Factor. I will, initially, be doing background reading with Carissa Babcock and then we will branch into our own research questions. As my research becomes more personalized, I will contribute more to this description. My weekly log can be found below.

Background Readings

I felt having a list of the background reading I am doing would be helpful. Hence, I have created one below. These readings include the ones Dr. Factor gave me and the ones I have found. Note: if a link is missing, the reading is either from a textbook or I was unable to find a link.

• BioMath: The Biology and Mathematics of Food Webs by Midge Cozzens, Nancy Crisler, Randi Rotjan, and Tom Fleetwood
• Chapter 3 from Applied Combinatorics by Fred S. Roberts
• (i,j) Competition Graphs by Kim A.S. Hefner, Kathryn F. Jones, Suh-ryung Kim, J. Richard Lundgren, and Fred S. Roberts.
• The (1,2)-step competition graph of a tournament by Kim A.S. Factor and Sarah K. Merz
• An Introduction to (1,2)-Domination Graphs by Kim A.S. Factor
• The m-step, same-step, and any-step competition graphs by Wei ho
• Connected triangle-free m-step competition graphs by Geir T. Helleloid
• The m-step competition graph of a digraph by Han Hyuk Cho, Suh-Ryun Kim, and Yunsun Nam
• A Characterization of Competition Graphs by R.D. Dutton and R.C. Brigham
• Interval Graphs and Food Webs: A finding and a Problem by Joel E. Cohen
• Using Food Webs In Order To Determine Possible Predictors of Primary and Secondary Extinctions by Kaitlin A. Ryan (a master's thesis)

Project Log

Week 1 (5/30/17-6/2/17)

Day 1 (5/30/17)

• Attended MSCS REU orientation
• Met with mentor, Dr. Kim A.S. Factor, and began discussing project details
• Dr. Factor and I discussed goals: having BioMath: The Biology and Mathematics of Food Webs done by Thursday and reading The (1,2)-step competition graph of a tournament (by Kim A.S. Factor and Sarah Merz) by next Wednesday
• Completed pages 1 through 30 of BioMath: The Biology and Mathematics of Food Webs. I plan on finishing the packet tomorrow and seeing how far I can get through chapter 3 of Applied Combinatorics by Fred S. Roberts

Day 2 (5/31/17)

• Attended library orientation
• Finished the BioMath packet.
• Began reading The (1,2)-step competition graph of a tournament
• Began reading chapter 3 of Applied Combinatorics.

Day 3 (6/1/17)

• Attended a talk on good research practices by Dr. Kim Factor
• Filled out direct deposit form
• Met with Dr. Kim Factor and drafted the milestones and discussed moving our lunch with Carissa to Wednesday
• Reviewed milestones and compared them to the program's google calendar
• Printed additional readings for the weekend
• Continued reading chapter 3 of Applied Combinatorics
• Continued reading The (1,2)-step competition graph of a tournament

Day 4 (6/2/17)

• Uploaded a pdf of my milestones for the summer
• Worked on chapter 3 of Applied Combinatorics
• Continued reading The (1,2)-step competition graph of a tournament
• Began reviewing other papers
• Created project's Wiki page

Reflection: End of Week 1

Concerning my research, this week was relatively uninteresting. That is, I spent most of my time trying to find literature (beyond what Dr. Factor gave me), working through background readings, and finding a good work area. Of those three tasks, I spent most of my time on finding a good work area (it was my top priority); I can happily say I completed this task. I cannot wait to really dig into my research--make it past the background reading.

I accomplished my goals for this week. I attended various meetings, orientations, and finished the BioMath module, among others. I intend on furthering my research this weekend. Specifically, I hope to read multiple papers and complete chapter 3 from Applied Combinatorics. Next week, I'll be meeting Carissa on Tuesday, and we'll finally discuss the material Dr. Factor gave us; I'm excited.

Week 2 (6/5/17-6/9/17)

Day 1 (6/5/17)

• Finished reading chapter 3 from Applied Combinatorics
• Created a LaTex document where I am writing my notes on Applied Combinatorics--a link to it is here, please note it is still in progress
• Created a LaTex document for teaching Carissa TeX
• Configured the printer in room 410
• Finished formatting my personal wiki and began a rough draft of the project's wiki
• Confirmed a meeting with Carissa tomorrow, 6/6, for 8:30 AM before the ethics training.

Day 2 (6/6/17)

• Attended meeting with Carissa at 8:00AM
• Attended ethical research training at 9:00AM
• Handed off Applied Combinatorics to Carissa for reading on Graph theory
• Began reviewing The (1,2)-step competition graph with Carissa at 3:15PM
• Made note to include approximate total number of hours in end-of-week reflection
• Left the building at 7:08PM, will be back in two hours...Didn't make it back to Cudahy, finished at the apartment. Estimate for the day is 13.5-14 hours