AWM 2018 Student Chapter Awards

AWM sponsored its annual Student Chapter Awards. Awards were given in four categories: scientific excellence, professional development, fundraising/sustainability and community outreach. We thank all who participated in this year’s competition for the attention to their proposals and congratulate them on the strength of the activities they are pursuing to create a productive environments for women in mathematics. The four chapter winners were recognized at MathFest, August 1-4 in Denver, Colorado.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Winner of the Community Outreach Category

The AWM Student Chapter at UIUC is receiving this award in recognition of its outstanding work in sharing research level mathematics with people in their community. Their program is notable in highlighting active research projects of female mathematicians. They have built a comprehensive program for all ages and all members of their various communities, and have raised over $40,000 to invest in building a self-sufficient and sustainable program. Their annual Sonia Math Day targets high school girls, while for middle school girls, the chapter developed Girls Engaged in Math and Science (GEMS) workshops comprised of three sequential week-end events. Finally, they co-host a math carnival for the entire Urbana-Champaign community that serves over 1000 people. Their community work provides an extraordinary model for AWM outreach, and we congratulate them for their efforts, imagination, and
great success.

Florida Atlantic University
Winner of the Fundraising/Sustainability Category

The AWM Student Chapter at Florida Atlantic is receiving this award in recognition of its initiative in researching funding opportunities and its successful application for an NSF INCLUDES “Watch Us” mini-grant. This grant “aims to broaden participation in STEM by reaching populations traditionally underserved in science and engineering.” Florida Atlantic’s grant “Dare to Bee” supports, among other activities, their Big Bee/Little Bee mentoring project which pairs graduate students with undergraduates and promotes student/faculty interaction. The primary objective of the grant is to provide a support system for female students, enhancing the professional skills of graduate students and encouraging undergraduates to continue their academic and professional training in the mathematical sciences. With funds from their grant, the chapter brought a visiting mathematician to campus for a research lecture and extended discussion with students, hosted an AAUW Salary Negotiation Workshop to address salary discrimination against women, and supported travel by chapter members to the Joint Meetings to recruit talented graduate students to FAU. We applaud the chapter’s enterprise in seeking and finding resources to support its ambitions to expand participation by women in mathematics and science.

Purdue University
Winner of the Professional Development Category

The AWM Student Chapter at Purdue is receiving this award in recognition of the depth and success of its program to develop students’ professional involvement in mathematics. Their signature program began

by matching prospective graduate students with volunteer graduate students, introducing them to each other at the prospective student event held annually by the department. This program has now matured, but it was immediately so effective that the Mathematics Department used it as a model for a similar program which has helped to recruit and retain graduate students. The Chapter has played a key role in encouraging the recruitment and support of female graduate students and faculty in the Mathematics Department and has been one of the driving forces behind the administration’s efforts at the department level to support the careers of women in mathematics. We congratulate them for their outstanding work in promoting the goals of the AWM in their own institution.

University of Oregon
Winner of the Scientific Excellence Category

The AWM Student Chapter at the University of Oregon is receiving this award for its highly distinguished Speaker Series and for its innovative reading programs that cultivate and encourage student interest in mathematics. The Speaker Series invites two female mathematicians each year to give talks accessible to graduate students and upper-level undergraduate students. Speakers spend several days on campus, interacting with students in both formal and informal settings. The Chapter also sponsors an Undergraduate Reading Program that pairs undergraduates with graduate student mentors. The chapter has also begun to create a library of books on professional women to provide resources for female mathematics students to thrive in and beyond the university boundaries. The Chapter’s exceptional efforts in broadening the access of students to top-rank female mathematicians and to work in the mathematical sciences make it a most deserving recipient of this award.