Connecting Women in Mathematics: AWM Research Symposium 2013 and Workshop 2014

Association For Women In Mathematics, Inc., Providence RI

Investigators

Abstract

The Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) is developing a series of interconnected research conferences and workshops designed to create ongoing networks, encourage research collaborations, and build a stronger sense of community among women in the mathematical sciences. This project includes the first two events in this series, AWM Research Symposium 2013 and AWM Workshop at JMM 2014. The symposium, to be held March 16-17, 2013 at Santa Clara University, will include three distinguished plenary speakers, special sessions on a broad array of topics in pure and applied mathematics, contributed paper sessions, poster presentations, and a panel discussion. All presenters will be women, but the event will be open to the entire mathematical community and will be advertised widely. Mathematics of Planet Earth 2013, an initiative launched by the mathematical sciences institutes of North America to showcase the relevance of the mathematical sciences in solving the challenges facing our planet, will be featured in one of the invited addresses and in several of the special sessions. The AWM Workshop at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in Baltimore in January 2014, will be aimed at women early in their careers. It will concentrate on diverse aspects of the mathematics of shape modeling and will feature a daylong special session on this subject, a general topic poster session, and a reception with a mentoring component. The need for mathematical shape modeling and image analysis arises in fields such as computer vision, computer animation, and biomedical engineering. Questions from shape analysis often lead to rich mathematical problems in areas like statistics, variational methods, optimization, and geometry. While the problem of under representation of women in the mathematical sciences is persistent and complex and has no single solution, events that bring together women at various stages of their careers for networking, mentoring and research collaboration create a synergy that goes beyond that of a standard research conference. Such events can have a significant impact on the aspirations and future career trajectories of young women. AWM's planned series of conferences and workshops is designed to build community and to promote networking, natural mentoring relationships, and research collaborations among women in mathematics, especially among those just beginning their careers. This project will help fund the first two of these events, a broad-based research symposium and a focused workshop for early-career women.