Several faculty members are considering working with students this summer. The last section of this document contains some further information. Please contact them directly if you are interested and would like more information.
- Angélica Osorno and Kyle Ormsby (CMRG)
The Collaborative Mathematics Research Group (CMRG) is an NSF-funded summer research program led by Kyle Ormsby and Angélica Osorno. This summer, CMRG will support six or seven Reed students as they work on a research problem in equivariant algebra. The program will run for eight weeks, from June 1 to July 24, 2026.
Equivariant algebra studies algebraic structures equipped with a group action. A central example is the Burnside ring A(G), which records isomorphism types of finite G-sets, with disjoint union corresponding to addition and Cartesian product corresponding to multiplication. If H is a subgroup of G, then restricting a G-action to an H-action induces a restriction homomorphism A(G) → A(H). There are also maps in the other direction: an additive transfer map and a multiplicative norm map A(H) → A(G). Together, these maps form a structure known as a Tambara functor. Tambara functors — and their relatives, Mackey functors — play important roles in equivariant topology and representation theory, and they have attracted renewed interest in recent years.
This summer, the CMRG will study several lambda-ring structures on the Burnside Tambara functor, with the long-term goal of producing theorems and computations with applications to enriched enumerative geometry. The simplest example of such a lambda operation is: for a natural number k and a finite G-set A, define λ^k(A) to be the set of k-element subsets of A, equipped with the induced G-action.
CMRG participants will benefit from prior coursework in combinatorics (MATH 113) and groups and rings (MATH 332), but we will consider all applicants who have completed at least one proof-based mathematics course at Reed.
Applications are due by March 4, 2026 and should be submitted via this form: https://forms.gle/edX2gwS2iDBui8Kb6
Required materials:
- A faculty reference (just a name — we will contact them directly for input).
- A short personal statement (at most one page) describing your interest in and suitability for the program, along with how it might benefit your career goals.
- Grayson White
This summer, I’ll be hiring students for my summer program in forestry data science. The deadline to apply (via the website below) is February 6th, 2026!
The Undergraduate Forestry Data Science (or, as we lovingly call it: "UFDS") program is a joint collaboration between the US Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, Forest Inventory and Analysis Program (FIA), Bucknell University, and Reed College that engages undergraduate students with authentically motivated research questions in statistics, data science, and forestry. In summer 2026, the UFDS program will be held at Reed College, and, if selected for the program, you’ll get to work on projects with other Reedies and students from Bucknell University who will travel here for the summer.
FIA is responsible for monitoring the status and trends in forested ecosystems throughout the US. As part of UFDS, students work on research questions generated by the FIA program and collaborate directly with research statisticians and foresters at FIA. With the rise of new data sources, such as satellite imagery and large scale photography, and with the explosion of new statistical learning tools, a wealth of estimation techniques are available to consider. But with these new methods also come a load of important statistical questions related to robustness, bias, efficiency, and more! This summer, we’ll try to answer some of these questions.
For more information, and to apply, please visit the program website: https://ufds-lab.com/.
- Harper Knittel (Computer Science)
I'm looking to work with 2-4 students this summer. I study graph algorithms - if you took algorithms and liked it, this might be a good fit for you! Some projects we could jump right into: fair clustering, online algorithms, massively parallel algorithms, and matching market design.
I'm also interested in modeling adverse incentives and power dynamics in economic systems through the lens of mechanism design. To my knowledge, this is a very understudied area and would require significant literature review to understand what these models should look like and how they could fit into current literature. Most of my work is highly mathematical in nature with some room for coding as well.
Requirements: Math 113, CS 121
Strongly Preferred: CS 382, CS 387, Math 201, or advanced mathematics courses
If you're interested, please fill out this survey (by Wednesday, March 4, at noon for full consideration, or later to be considered on a rolling basis).
I highly encourage any student interested in working with me to also apply for the Reed College Science Research Fellowship, which funds many Reed students each summer. If you receive this fellowship, I will gladly mentor you as long as our interests align enough. The deadline is also Wed, March 4, at noon. If you are interested, please fill out my survey early so I can assist you with the fellowship app!
- Anna Ritz (Biology)
Summer 2026 Project: I am hiring two current undergrads to work on a software development and dataset benchmarking project related to computational systems biology. In collaboration with UW-Madison and Virginia Tech, I conduct a distributed summer research experience for students to learn about computational network biology (with a focus on molecular interaction networks) and contribute to software that streamlines existing algorithms. We are planning to add new datasets and applications to the project this upcoming summer. Some programming experience is required (e.g., CS121 or BIO131), and some biology background is preferred.
To Apply: Follow the instructions for Biology’s SURF application (deadline 12pm on Wednesday, March 4). Reach out to me (aritz@reed.edu, student hours Mon 3-4 & Wed 11-12) to discuss your interests before writing the proposal.