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WIMSIG NEWSLETTER - May 2017


Latest AustMS WIMSIG Awardees

Congratulations to the following 4 awardees of the April 2017 round of the Cheryl E. Praeger Travel Awards and Anne Penfold Street Awards. The Praeger Awards are for travel funding (open to all female members of the AustMS) and the Street Awards are for caring expenses incurred whilst travelling (open to all members of the AustMS).

  • Paige Davis (Queensland University of Technology) has been awarded a Praeger Award to attend the the SIAM Conference on Applications of Dynamical Systems, May 21-25, 2017, Snowbird resort, Utah, USA.
  • Gobert Lee (Flinders University) has been awarded a Praeger Award to attend the 39th Annual Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, July 11-15, 2017, South Korea.
  • Barbara Maenhaut (The University of Queensland) has been awarded a Praeger Award to attend the 6th Biennial Canadian Discrete and Algorithmic Mathematics Conference (CanaDAM), June 12-15, 2017, Toronto, Canada.
  • Joanne Hall (RMIT University) has been awarded a Street Award for childcare expenses whilst attending the WIMSIG "Celebration of Women in Australian Mathematical Sciences" Conference, September 24-26, 2017, Adelaide.


Superstars of STEM

The Superstars of STEM project will select 30 female STEM superstars, and train them in storytelling, public speaking, media skills, and online engagement. Applications close May 23, 2017.


EVENTS

First Biennial Conference of Nigerian Women in Mathematics (NWM)

  • Date: May 8-9, 2017
  • Venue: Department of Mathematics,  Federal University of Agriculture, Markurdi., Benue State, Nigeria
  • Flyer (JPG, 236 KB)

The conference will be followed by the Nigerian Mathematical Society (NMS) conference on May 9 -12, 2017.


WEBINAR Gender Bias in Academic Publishing

  • Thursday 11 May, 2017 at 2-3pm BST, 3-4pm CEST, 9-10am EDT (USA)
  • More details

Unconscious gender bias in academia can have a real impact on women’s careers. Whether it’s obtaining a job or publishing a paper, quick judgments made subconsciously by reviewers can have very tangible consequences. In this webinar, you’ll learn the ins and outs of identifying and avoiding the pitfalls of gender bias. You’ll come away with clear evidence of the influence of unconscious bias in peer review, and hear about some of the recent efforts by publishers to reduce it, making the publishing process fairer and more equitable for all.


Women in Mathematics Get-Togethers

The following get-togethers are confirmed for May (with some details yet to be finalised).


MELBOURNE

Monash University

  • Monday 8 May at 11am (AEST)
  • Mathematics Tea Room (3rd floor, 9 Rainforest Walk)  
  • Host: Julie Clutterbuck

This morning tea is being held to mark the visit of Prof Ruth Williams (UCSD).  


BRISBANE

The University of Queensland (UQ)

  • Friday 12 May at 1-2pm (AEST), followed by a talk by Birgit Loch
  • Alumni Gardens at UQ — between the Maths Building and the Great Court (outside Mathematics Building #67), followed by Birgit's talk in room 7-222 at 2pm.
  • Hosts:

Bio: Professor Birgit Loch is the inaugural Chair, Teaching and Learning in the College of Science, Health and Engineering at La Trobe University. Before joining La Trobe, she was the Academic Director Digital Learning and Technologies in the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology (2014-2016), and the Director of the Mathematics and Statistics Help Centre (2010-2015), both at Swinburne University of Technology. From 2005-2010 she worked at the University of Southern Queensland, and in 2004-2005 in the Department of Mathematics at The University of Queensland.

Title: A peer-mentoring program towards female academic promotion

Abstract: In this presentation, I will introduce the peer-mentoring program towards promotion for female academics that Professor Virginia Kilborn (Astronomy), Associate Professor Helana Scheepers (Information Systems) and I established at Swinburne University in early 2015. The aim of this program was to address the gender imbalance at senior academic levels, by providing a supportive environment to guide female academics through the promotions process – and in many cases, to encourage them to even consider applying. This grassroots program in its first two years has already led to a record number of female academics applying for promotion, and a record number who were promoted. An overview of the program may be found in an article on The Conversation, published before the outcomes of the promotions round in the first year were announced.

At the end of 2015, our program won a Vice-Chancellor’s Culture & Values award following nomination by more than 40 academics. This peer-support program has now developed into SWAN (the Swinburne Women’s Academic Network), and an off-shoot was founded by professional staff in 2016, also honoured by a 2016 Vice-Chancellor’s Award. SWAN will be one of the key submissions for Swinburne University’s application for a SAGE/Athena SWAN Bronze Award.


CANBERRA

ANU

  • Maths in the Built Environment
  • Wednesday 17 May at 2-3pm (AEST)
  • Front door of the Coombs Building (#9 on the ANU campus map, on Fellows Road)
  • Host: Alice Richardson


SYDNEY

Macquarie University


UNSW

There will also be a "Crafty Mathematics" event held at UNSW on Saturday 20 May from 10am to 1pm in room RC-3082 on Level 3 of the Centre Wing of the Red Centre building.

Experience mathematics coming alive in your hands through the power of craft! Crochet a piece of coral or knit a chanterelle mushroom to reveal the intricacies of hyperbolic geometry. Fold paper to create origami exploring the different Platonic solids - highly symmetric 3D shapes revered by the ancient Greeks. Registration required.

Further details at http://www.maths.unsw.edu.au/events/2017-05/crafty-maths-workshop.

If you're interested in hosting a Women in Maths get-together in May/June (or some future date), please contact WIMSIG-events@women.austms.org.au.


WIMSIG Conference 2017

Celebration of Women in Australian Mathematical Sciences

If you are considering going to the WIMSIG Conference 2017, then register your interest. This is the first event of its kind in Australia, so we don’t know just how popular the event will be. The expression of interest form also gathers information about potential childcare and lactation space requirements. If there are any other services that may enable your attendance, then please ask Lesley Ward. We want this event to be as inclusive as possible.

Plenary Speakers
Our four plenary speakers span statistics, mathematics in industry, pure mathematics, and applied mathematics.  

Special Sessions in the following 12 areas have been confirmed.

  • Algebra and Discrete Mathematics
  • Analysis and PDEs
  • Biostatistics and Bioinformatics
  • Cryptography, Coding and Compression
  • Dynamical Systems and Fluid Dynamics
  • Gender Equity and Diversity in Mathematics
  • Geometry and Topology
  • Industrial Mathematics
  • Mathematical Biology
  • Mathematical Physics
  • Statistics
  • Other

There will also be a Professional Development workshop on the Sunday (September 24).

Accommodation information is now available.


SAGE Symposium

The 2017 SAGE Symposium will be held on September 5-6 at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. More details will be available soon.


OPPORTUNITIES

The University of Melbourne


Bureau of Meteorology

People with an undergraduate or postgraduate degree, with a major in a physical science or mathematics are encouraged to consider a career in meteorology. Applications close June 1, 2017.


AustMS Medal and Gavin Brown Prize

Nominations for both the Australian Mathematical Society Medal and the Gavin Brown Prize are due on Friday 26 May.

A full call for nominations, including details of the rules, was published in the March 2017 Gazette.


MEDIA


Have you read an interesting article? Have some news? Have an opportunity available?

Please send items to WIMSIG-news@women.austms.org.au.

Note: Newsletters are published on the 1st day of each month (or soon after). The deadline for submitted items is the 27th day of each month.


Updated: 09 May 2017
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