Workshop for Women in Computational Topology

Macalester College, Saint Paul MN

Investigators

Abstract

This award will support participants attending the first Workshop for Women in Computational Topology. Computational topology is a new and exciting field emerging at the intersection of mathematics and computer science, with applications in areas such as big data, image recognition, and medical imaging, among many others. Traditionally, representation of women in these research areas is quite low, and attrition rates are high at all levels. This award will allow the creation of a network of junior and senior women in this research area, a strategy which has proven invaluable to broadening participation in such areas. Participants will spend a week at the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications, providing a critical opportunity for research collaboration as well as networking and mentoring for women. Computational topology brings together tools from topology, geometry, algorithms, and statistics in order to tackle a range of problems from applications that include graphics, sensor networks, medical imaging, materials engineering, GIS, big data analysis, and many others. This workshop will form a series of working groups that will tackle open problems posed by senior women researchers in computational topology on topics ranging from computing optimal mappings between surfaces to investigating open problems related to persistent homology to applying techniques to new applications. Results from the workshop will be published in an AWM Springer volume, and follow-up events will be organized in conjunction with AWM to continue to grow the network.