More for Women in Mathematics Day

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As part of the upcoming International Women in Mathematics day celebrations in May, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers (ACEMS) is proud to present a free virtual public lecture with mathematician, musician and author Dr Eugenia Cheng.

Dr Eugenia Cheng has been featured in the New York Times, presented TED Talks, written several books, and even appeared on “The Late Show with Steven Colbert“. Her most recent book, X + Y, a Mathematician’s Manifesto for Rethinking Gender, tackles the issue of gender inequality and argues that her mathematical specialty, category theory, reveals why.

About this lecture:  “Inclusion-Exclusion in the mathematical sciences: who is kept out, and how we can use maths to bring them in”

The question of why women and minorities are under-represented in mathematics is complex and there are no simple answers, only many contributing factors. Dr Cheng will draw on a combination of precise mathematical reasoning, techniques of abstract mathematical thinking, and her experiences as a woman in the male-dominated field of mathematics. She will argue that if we focus on character traits rather than gender we can have a more productive and less divisive conversation about maths and beyond. She will present a new theory for doing so, showing that we can use abstract mathematical thinking to work towards a more inclusive  society in this politically divisive era.

Dr Cheng will also present the abstract field of Category Theory as a particularly inclusive subject area according to the dimensions of her new theory, and demonstrate its scope for deepening the curiosity and social awareness of high school students, rather than just pushing and evaluating them. This goes against the assumption that abstract mathematics can only be taught to high level undergraduates and graduate students, and the accusation abstract mathematics is removed from real life. No prior knowledge will be needed.

For more information about the event, head to: https://acems.org.au/events/eugenia-cheng-acems-lecture

The Road Ahead for Women in STEM – Virtual Panel Discussion

When: Wednesday 12 May, 12pm-1pm AEST

Where: The panel discussion will be online via zoom webinar. Please register to receive the zoom link.

Register here

As part of the celebration of International Women in Mathematics Day, we’d like to invite you to join us for an engaging panel discussion that brings together some top leaders in education in Australia.

The aim of the discussion is to be forward-looking and to explore how we can get more women in higher-level positions in universities, as well as more women in STEM and, specifically, the mathematical sciences. The panellists will examine why this is so important and look at the benefits of having more diversity in these different areas.

Panelists

  • Professor Ana Deletic Executive Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Queensland University of Technology
  • Professor Moira O’Bryan Dean, Faculty of Science, University of Melbourne
  • Professor Asha Rao Associate Dean, Mathematical Sciences, RMIT University

Moderator

  • Dr Rachael Quill Research Fellow, University of Melbourne, ACEMS Associate Investigator & Chair of the ACEMS Equity & Diversity Committee

Women in Mathematics Day

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We are very excited to announce the Women in Mathematics Day to be held on Thursday 13th of May in Western Sydney University starting at 3:30pm both in person and via Zoom. The day is around the Maryam Mirzakhani birthday, who was the first ever woman who won the Fields medal. The event consists of talks by

  • Julia Collins (Edith Cowan University)
  • Luci Ellis (Reserve Bank of Australia)
  • Mary Myerscough (University of Sydney)
  • Rosalind Wang (Western Sydney University)

The goal of the day is to celebrate the achievements of women in STEM and to encourage an open, welcoming and inclusive work environment for everybody. Please join us and confirm your attendance here.

Best wishes, Roozbeh Hazrat

Symmetry in Newcastle – 19th April 2021

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Symmetry in Newcastle seminar is here again! The confirmed speakers for next Monday are Zoe Chatzidakis, CNRS – ENS, and Laura Ciobanu, Herriot-Watt University. Feel free to grab a beverage appropriate for your respective timezone and join us for a friendly chat during the break!

The talks will be recorded and made available on our YouTube channel https://tinyurl.com/zerodimensionalgroup and our website https://zerodimensional.group/. The running times of the talks, titles and abstracts are as follows

16:30 – 17:30 AEST (06:30 – 07:30  UTC) Zoe Chatzidakis

17:30 – 18:00 AEST (07:30 – 08:00  UTC) Break and chat

18:00 – 19:00 AEST (08:00 – 09:00  UTC) Laura Ciobanu

Speaker: Zoe Chatzidakis (CNRS – ENS)
Title: A new invariant for difference fields
Abstract: If (K,f) is a difference field, and a is a finite tuple in some difference field extending K, and such that f(a) in K(a)^{alg}, then we define dd(a/K)=lim[K(f^k(a),a):K(a)]^{1/k}, the distant degree of a over K. This is an invariant of the difference field extension K(a)^{alg}/K. We show that there is some b in the difference field generated by a over K, which is equi-algebraic with a over K, and such that dd(a/K)=[K(f(b),b):K(b)], i.e.: for every k>0, f(b) in K(b,f^k(b)).

Viewing Aut(K(a)^{alg}/K) as a locally compact group, this result is connected to results of Goerge Willis on scales of automorphisms of locally compact totally disconnected groups. I will explicit the correspondence between the two sets of results.

(Joint with E. Hrushovski)

Speaker: Laura Ciobanu
Title: Free group homomorphisms and the Post Correspondence Problem
Abstract: The Post Correspondence Problem (PCP) is a classical problem in computer science that can be stated as: is it decidable whether given two morphisms g and h between two free semigroups A and B, there is any nontrivial x in A such that g(x)=h(x)? This question can be phrased in terms of equalisers, asked in the context of free groups, and expanded: if the `equaliser’ of g and h is defined to be the subgroup consisting of all x where g(x)=h(x), it is natural to wonder not only whether the equaliser is trivial, but what its rank or basis might be.

While the PCP for semigroups is famously insoluble and acts as a source of undecidability in many areas of computer science, the PCP for free groups is open, as are the related questions about rank, basis, or further generalisations. However, in this talk we will show that there are links and surprising equivalences between these problems in free groups, and classes of maps for which we can give complete answers. This is joint work with Alan Logan.

APPLY NOW TO BE AN AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE POLICY FELLOW IN 2021-22

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The Australian Science Policy Fellowship Program is an initiative of the Office of the Chief Scientist that aims to grow the diversity of expertise in the Australian Public Service (APS) workforce. It provides a pathway for early- to mid-career scientists to become skilled policy practitioners so they can contribute science to the policy process.

Fellows are employed as policy officers by participating Commonwealth Government host departments for 12 months. The Fellows bring a highly valued skillset, including data and analytical skills, and fresh perspectives on policy work.

“The Program has highlighted the endless opportunities that are available through working in the APS and is a great avenue for gaining meaningful, stable employment. I am excited about where this year will lead me to in the future.”

– Morgan, 2020-21 Science Policy Fellow

The 2021-22 cohort will be the first cohort of the permanent Program, following a successful three‑year pilot. Launched in July 2018, the Program has placed 31 Science Policy Fellows across 10 Commonwealth Government departments. The vast majority of Fellows have subsequently moved into positions within the APS since completing the Fellowship Program.

To be eligible for the Program, the applicant must be an Australian citizen, hold a STEM PhD, be no more than 15 years post PhD completion, and be prepared to relocate to Canberra for the duration of the 12 month Program.

“The Program has made a huge difference because it allowed me to take my career in a new direction, while still recognising and valuing the skills I had developed as a research scientist.”

– Kim, 2018-19 Science Policy Fellow

Applications for the 2021-22 cohort are open from 7 April to 26 April 2021. Visit Australia’s Chief Scientist’s website for all the details on how to apply: www.chiefscientist.gov.au/australian-science-policy-Fellowship-Program

Canadian Mathematical Society’s 75th+1 anniversary summer meeting

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The Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS) invites the mathematical community to the 2021 CMS Online Summer Meeting.

Registration is now open for the CMS’ third online meeting happening from June 7–11, 2021 and on June 4th.

The CMS Summer Meeting is an occasion for the community to come together, like we always have, in a new way.

A complete and detailed list of sessions and speakers is available on our website.

Other engaging activities include:

Mini-Courses

Enjoy 7 mini courses on June 4th. If you wish to attend, register for any of the courses on the registration website.

Joint CMS/CMESG Panel happening on Monday

Data literacy – What are the competencies that people need to access data literacy? What are the implications for the classroom?

Public Lectures

Anne Broadbent (University Research Chair in Quantum Information Processing, University of Ottawa)

5 Plenary Lectures

Henri Darmon (McGill University)

Moon Duchin (Tufts University)

Matilde Marcolli (University of Toronto)

Aaron Naber (Northwestern University)

Ian Putnam (University of Victoria)

3 Prize Lectures

Alfonso Gracia-Saz (University of Toronto) – Excellence in Teaching Award

Joel Kamnitzer (University of Toronto) – Jeffrey-Williams Prize

Anita Layton (University of Waterloo) – Krieger-Nelson Prize

Mini-Courses

An Introduction to Programming in Maple – Friday June 4th | 11:00 – 14:00

Career Diversity in Mathematics – Friday June 4th | 15:00 – 18:00, Complimentary Admission

Presenters: Megan Dewar and David Thomson (Tutte Institute for Mathematics and Computing & Carleton University)

Combinatorial Game Theory – Friday June 4th | 11:00 – 14:00

Presenters: Melissa Huggan (Ryerson), Svenja Huntemann (Carleton), Richard J. Nowakowski (Dalhousie)

Tools and Techniques for Modelling and Analyzing Complex Networks – Friday June 4th | 11:00 – 14:00

Presenters: Francois Théberge (Tutte Institute and Ottawa)

Mathematical Modelling Of Real-World Infectious Disease Epidemics – An R Based Hands-On Mini Course – Friday June 4th | 15:00 – 18:00

Presenters: Ashok Krishnamurthy (Mount Royal University)

STUDC Mini-Course – Friday June 4th, Complimentary Admission

Optimal transport and stochastic processes in developmental biology – 

Friday June 4th | 11:00 – 14:00

Strategies for Supporting Mathematics and Statistics Students in Higher Education – Friday June 4th, Complimentary Admission

Presenters: Dr Ana-Lucia Vargas Sandoval (University of Amsterdam) & MSc Paula Beukers (The University of Groningen)

Students

Students can register for the AARMS-CMS Student Poster Session and for the Student Research Talks Session! To participate in either session, send your title, abstract and affiliation to studc-summer21-poster@cms.math.ca for the poster or to studc-summer21-session@cms.math.ca for the talks by May 27th. Top posters will be awarded prizes!

Connecting Women in Mathematics Across Canada (CWiMAC)

June 2-3, 2021 | Online | Complimentary Admission for All

Anyone wishing to contribute a talk can email.

The 2021 CWiMAC workshop is organized in coordination with the CMS Women in Mathematics Committee. The purpose of the CWiMAC workshops is to support the career development of junior female-identified academics in the Canadian mathematics community. The workshop will be held at the University of Ottawa on the evening of Wednesday, June 2 and all day on Thursday, June 3, 2021, immediately preceding the 75th+1 Anniversary Meeting of the Canadian Mathematical Society online. 

Virtual Exhibits

Visit the virtual exhibit booths where you will find our exhibitors: AMS, Bolster Academy, Maplesoft, Springer, and Cambridge University Press

Registration

To make the meeting accessible for all and to balance the needs of your Society, we are offering two tiers of registration rates from which to choose. The discounted COVID rate is significantly lower. We encourage all researchers who are able to do so to register at the regular rate, which includes access to several special value-added features.

Register

COVID Registration

Words of Women in Mathematics in the Time of Corona

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This message addressed to women in mathematics around the world is to invite you to contribute to a follow up project
“Words of Women in Mathematics in the Time of Corona” of the video project “Faces of Women in Mathematics“. You might have contributed to that 2018 film project. If so, and if you did your clip as a group, please share this mail with your colleagues who were in the clip! Otherwise, you are also strongly encouraged to take part in this new project.

The “Faces of Women in Mathematics” film collected 146 clips of 243 women mathematicians from 36 different countries speaking 31 different languages. This very successful project has contributed to making women working in mathematics more visible and has received very positive resonance from the general public.

Three years later and with a year of pandemic behind us, we are launching a follow-up of the project, with the above working title “Words of Women in Mathematics in the Time of Corona”. The pandemic has made women and in particular women in mathematics more invisible than ever, and this project aims to let them be heard and seen. The new film will be launched on May 12th, Maryam Mirzakhani’s birthday that has become a day to celebrate Women in Maths.

We would like to invite you to contribute in answering the following question. “How has the pandemic affected your personal or professional life as a mathematician?” in the form of

  • a video clip (8-30 seconds in your original language) with your answer (preferably) in your native language to the above question OR a portrait photograph of yourself + audio file (use memo function of you cell phone) with your answer in your native language. The photograph should be a “natural” one, not an official “professional” one. Here is a link with some samples: http://vimeo.com/showcase/8239660
  • a written translation in English of your spoken words, as well as your first name, last name, the name of the language in which you made your statement and the country where you live and work We encourage you to add a photograph of your work space during the pandemic in high resolution, that we would include in the video.

We need to receive your contributions by April 21st 2021

Please send your clip to Irina Linke preferably by Wetransfer for highest resolution [https://wetransfer.com/]

Here are some practical recommendations for best video results:

  •      You may ask someone else to hold the camera and film you
  •      Use the camera of your smart phone; do not use the computer!
  •      Hold the camera at eye level
  •      Make sure that your face is well lit.
  •      For editing purposes, wait a few seconds before you start talking,and wait a few seconds before you stop filming after having said your sentence
  •      You may film outdoors
  •      Please check the clip for clarity of the sound, and try to avoid filming in a noisy or windy environment.

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We are very much looking forward to seeing and hearing your contributions! Please forward this call to whoever might be interested in contributing! Many thanks!

Take care,

Best wishes,

Sylvie and the team:

  • Eugenie Hunsicker (Mathematician, UK)
  • Irina Linke (Documentary filmmaker, Germany)
  • Sonia Mahmoudi (Mathematician, Japan)
  • Claudia Malvenuto (Mathematician, Italy)
  • Sylvie Paycha (Mathematician, Germany)
  • Eriko Shinkawa (Mathematician, Japan)

Postdoc position — stochastic modelling

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School of Mathematics and Statistics
UNSW

Closing Date: 10 May 2021

Research Associate to undertake collaborative and self-directed research on an ARC-funded Discovery Project titled “The mathematics of stochastic transport and signalling in cells”. The aim of the project is to develop new stochastic mathematical models of the dynamics of protein transport and cell signalling.

The mathematics will link macro scale biological observations to micro scale molecular movements to characterise the relative role that different components and processes play. Expected outcomes are robust mathematical analyses of the transient dynamics of closed, finite capacity queueing networks and biological insight into the major control mechanisms in cellular insulin signalling. A major objective is the development of methods to quantitatively compare the time courses of stochastic measurements with the outputs of stochastic mathematical models, with a view to driving parameter inference and model selection in these systems.

The position is based at UNSW Sydney and is for up to 3 years. Applications close on May 10, 2021.

Women and people from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

See https://external-careers.jobs.unsw.edu.au/cw/en/job/501605/research-associate for details.

Please contact Adelle Coster, A.Coster@unsw.edu.au, for more information.

Call for Proposals MATRIX-SMRI Research Symposium

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MATRIX (Creswick) and the Sydney Mathematical Research Institute (SMRI) invite proposals for a joint Research Symposium to be held in a hybrid format (in-person/on-line) in 2021.

The joint MATRIX-SMRI Research Symposium will be centered around one distinguished international researcher who will Chair the Symposium, or one key publication for which one of the international authors will be designated Chair. 

The hybrid research symposium will normally run for at least two weeks with face-to-face and online components. The Chair will deliver at least two online lectures coordinated by SMRI in the lead-up to a  central face-to-face intensive research event for up to 20 participants at the MATRIX facilities in Creswick. 

Local participants may also present seminars during the online lead-up. Those who are not able to travel to MATRIX due to COVID-19 travel restrictions can participate online during this event. During or after the face-to-face event at MATRIX, the Chair will take part in an online discussion session, facilitated by SMRI. 

How to apply

Proposals should come with a team of organisers including at least two organisers planning to attend in person at MATRIX. Organisers should aim for gender balance. The application should contain: 

  • Title of the suggested research symposium
  • Research Program organisers including up to 10 publications relevant to the proposal of each of the organisers
  • Dates of the event – please refer to scheduled MATRIX Research Programs to identify available gaps in the calendar
  • Description of the topic and focus of event, recent results, references (4-6 pages)
  • The proposed provisional program of the research symposium, taking into account the different time zones
  • List of up to 20 suggested participants at MATRIX and up to 10 online participants during the MATRIX face-to-face component of  the symposium
  • Event budget

Proposal guidelines: https://www.matrix-inst.org.au/matrix-smri-research-symposium-guidelines/

Please prepare a PDF proposal in the format outlined in the guidelines and attach/submit here. 

Applications close on Friday, 7 May 2021.

SMRI Seminar 8th April 2021

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The Symmetry in Newcastle Seminar is not back just yet, but that does not mean you have to miss out on your monthly fix of Australian group theory seminars! Our friends at Sydney Mathematical Research Institute (SMRI) are hosting a seminar this Thursday and if you like combinatorial and geometric group theory, this might be just the event for you because the speakers for the day are Adam Piggott, Australian National University, and Murray Elder, University of Technology Sydney. The times, titles and abstracts of the talks, along with important links are as follows.

When: 8 April 2021, 15:00-17:00 AEST (05:00 – 07:00 UTC)

Where: Quad Oriental Room S204 (University of Sydney staff, students and affiliates only) and via Zoom (registration link below)

Talk 1: 15:00 AEST (05:00 UTC)

‘Stubborn conjectures concerning rewriting systems, geodesic normal forms and geodetic graphs’ 
Adam Piggott (ANU)

Abstract: A program of research, started in the 1980s, seeks to classify the groups that can be presented by various classes of length-reducing rewriting systems. We discuss the resolution of one part of the program (joint work with Andy Eisenberg (Temple University), and recent related work with Murray Elder (UTS).

Talk 2: 16:00 AEST (06:00 UTC)
‘Which groups have polynomial geodesic growth?’ 
Murray Elder (UTS)

Abstract: The growth function of a finitely generated group is a powerful and well-studied invariant. Gromov’s celebrated theorem states that a group has a polynomial growth function if and only if the group is {\em virtually nilpotent}. Of interest is a variant called the {\em geodesic growth function} which counts the number of minimal-length words in a group with respect to some finite generating set. I will explain progress made towards an analogue of Gromov’s theorem in this case. I will start by defining all of the terms used in this abstract (finitely generated group; growth function; virtual property of a group; nilpotent) and then give some details of the recent progress made.

The talk is based on the papers arxiv.org/abs/1009.5051, arxiv.org/abs/1908.07294 and arxiv.org/abs/2007.06834 by myself, Alex Bishop, Martin Brisdon, José Burillo and Zoran Šunić.

To Register: 
https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMrdeyrqTkoGNIG0BAyuvcTjuBxA7MPDTvC