Conference: Nebraska Conference for Undergraduate Women in Mathematics

University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln NE

Investigators

Abstract

The 26th Nebraska Conference for Undergraduate Women in Mathematics (NCUWM) will be hosted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln from Jan. 26-28, 2024. The 27th and 28th iterations of the conference will take place in late January or early February in 2025 and 2026, respectively. The mission of this conference is to support undergraduate women mathematics majors who wish to attend graduate school and to help and encourage them to identify possible careers using mathematics. All undergraduates are welcome to apply, regardless of gender identity or expression, race, color, ethnicity, or national origin. NCUWM plays an important role in inspiring undergraduate participants to pursue mathematics and has a positive impact on their professional growth. The conference program includes plenary talks by prominent women mathematicians, three panel discussions, small group conversations focused on a range of topics, and undergraduate research presentations in talk and poster sessions. Various networking opportunities throughout the program connect participants with peers and role models. Held annually since 1999, the conference has grown from 53 undergraduate participants to over 250 each year. In total, more than 5,000 undergraduates have attended NCUWM in its 25-year history. In addition to professional development opportunities, participants learn cutting-edge mathematics from plenary speakers and from one another. Many attendees have conducted independent, original research projects, and the conference program includes a poster session and more than five hours of talks by undergraduate participants scheduled in parallel sessions. The three panel discussions focus on careers in mathematics, choosing a graduate program, and random bits of advice. The design of the conference centers on the research-supported assertion that developing a broad mentoring network can be incredibly important for the recruitment and retention of women in STEM fields, and results of formal evaluations have corroborated the broad impact the conference has had on its participants. The conference webpage is available at https://math.unl.edu/ncuwm/. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.