Student Research Project
Neural Networks: I am looking for a student who would be interested in learning about neural networks in preparation for a project during the summer of 2005. No experience with neural networks is required, but an apptitude for programming and applied mathematics is a must.
Baseball: Over the years, I've investigated several questions relating to the mathematics (and statistics) of baseball. Many open questions remain. For example, how does one guage the effectiveness of good pitching versus good hitting? How large of role does fielding play? What is the best measure of batting skill . Are currently accepted strategies (bunting, stealing) really effective?
Parallel Processing: St. Olaf now has a Beowolf cluster, i.e. A connected set of computers running as a single process. This allows one to implement what are called “parallel algorithms.” I would to test out classic as well as newer algorithms in this parallel structure. Experience with a high-level programming language (e.g. C++) required.