Graduate
Women in Math
Association for Women in Mathematics posters
The Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) is a professional, non-profit organization founded in the year 1971, with the purpose: to encourage women to study and have active careers in the mathematical sciences, to promote equal opportunity, and to promote and support women in mathematics. The AWM currently has more than 3500 members representing a broad spectrum of the mathematical community, in the United States and many other countries around the world.
The University of Pittsburgh AWM Student Chapter is glad to be part of this great organization. The Chapter is organized and operated for the educational and scientific purposes of promoting an increased knowledge of and greater interest in the mathematical sciences, including pure and applied mathematics, statistics, and their applications. It also strives to promote a greater understanding of the contribution of women in mathematics, and to mentor and encourage women mathematicians as they consider or prepare for careers in the mathematical sciences. The membership of the Chapter is open to all students.
The Chapter leadership comprises four officers and a faculty sponsor. The officers are: Farjana Siddiqua as President, Sushmita John as Vice-President, Rui Fang as Secretary, and Anna Kishida Thomas as Treasurer. All the officers are currently doing PhD work in different areas of Mathematics. The faculty advisor of the Chapter is Professor Marta Lewicka.
The updated information about the activities of the Chapter can be found at: http://www.mathematics.pitt.edu/AWM.
One of our chief programs is the Undergraduate Female Mentoring Program, which pairs a few graduate students with interested undergraduate students who seek advice regarding different opportunities in Mathematics and want to discuss their research interests. This mentoring program helps younger students decide which branches of Mathematics they want to explore for further academic interest.
Starting in January 2021, the Chapter hosted the monthly Pitt AWM Student Seminar Series, held on first Fridays at 4:45pm. Every meeting features two 30 minute long talks by female PhD students, each presenting the speaker's research outcomes. This seminar is hoped to give a platform to female students-researchers, to promote the spirit of collegiality and collaboration, and to recognize the hard work of students. Talks are video-recorded and made available on the special YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtbXkHiM0NS_cS2kTR0uNwg
To date, twenty PhD students from different parts of the world have given talks on their ongoing research and more talks are scheduled for the next months. This seminar is well appreciated by faculty members and students alike, as well as previous speakers who keep attending the seminar. We hope to continue this amazing series.
The Chapter also conducts occasional Virtual Coffee Meetings with female math peers who share their professional experience and journey to become successful mathematicians. One guests included: 1) Silvia Jimenez Bolanos, Associate Professor at Colgate University, who spoke about her own career trajectory as well as answered questions about strategies for applying for jobs in liberal arts colleges; 2) Donatella Danielli, Professor at Arizona State University, who shared her experience of the mathematical journey and answered questions about career and many more topics; 3) Jennifer A. Loe, Postdoctoral Researcher at Sandia National Laboratories, who gave a technical talk in the field of numerical analysis, followed by a story of the career choices which brought her to working a premier national lab.
Overall, The University of Pittsburgh Chapter of the Association for Women in Mathematics has been actively conducting various programs and keeping its members connected by creating opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to gather and support one another, and also to discuss issues pertaining to women in mathematics. We hope to continue our service to the best of our abilities and to perform up to the mark of the AWM mission.
Farjana Siddiqua, President
Math Soccer Team
This semester the math department again had an intramural soccer team, this time called “The Annihilators”, which is a reference to a concept in linear algebra. Several opposing teams were apparently so intimidated by our name that they decided to forfeit rather than play us! Despite playing well in many games, we narrowly missed out on advancing to the playoffs. We expect big things from the team next year!