Mathematics Research Communities

American Mathematical Society, Providence RI

Investigators

Abstract

The American Mathematical Society (AMS) has created the Mathematics Research Communities (MRC) as a national program to support and guide young mathematicians as they begin their research careers. The goal of the Mathematics Research Communities program is to create research cohorts of young mathematicians that will sustain themselves over time, fostering joint research and coherent research programs that will, eventually, reach all areas of mathematics. The Mathematics Research Communities program strives to achieve this goal through the following activities: summer research conferences, Special Sessions at the annual AMS-MAA Joint Mathematics Meetings, a mentoring program and a discussion network. It is the formation of research cohorts that sets this program apart from any other (national) professional development programs for mathematicians that currently exist. The creation of three to six new cohorts per year has the potential to lay a foundation for decades of research, and will have an extremely positive effect on mathematics research in the U.S. This proposal is requesting support for an additional three years of this unique program. Conference topics will include both pure and applied mathematics areas of research. In 2010, three conferences will be held on the following topics: Birational Geometry and Moduli Spaces; Model Theory of Fields; and Commutative Algebra. Each of these conferences will bring together a diverse group of young mathematicians. The organizing committee for each conference is composed of leaders in the field of the conference and includes individuals with previous experience in organizing successful workshops and conferences. The conferences and Special Sessions at the JMM will bring together senior and junior researchers in an ideal environment to establish connections, which often last for many years after the conference itself. Most importantly, this program will focus on mathematicians who are beginning their research careers; all program components will help to train and connect the next generation of researchers in, eventually, all research areas of mathematics.