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AMS Updates
Math Camp Directors: Apply to AMS Young Scholars Program
January 15, 2024 is the deadline by which mathematics summer-camp directors may apply to the American Mathematical Society’s Young Scholars Program.
Since 2000, the AMS Epsilon Fund has made annual grants of $2,500–$15,000 to existing math summer programs for talented and highly motivated high-school students.
Applications are accepted on MathPrograms.org from program directors only (not from students or parents). More than a dozen awards are made each year to summer camps that focus on problem-solving or research in any area of mathematics. Award announcements will be made in late February.
See http://www.ams.org/prizes-awards/paview.cgi?parent_id=3 for more information about the AMS Young Scholars Program, to read the list of previous grant awardees, or to learn about the AMS Epsilon Fund.
—AMS Communications
AMS Congressional Fellowship Seeks Applicants
Apply until February 1, 2024 for the 2024–2025 AMS Congressional Fellowship.
The American Mathematical Society, in conjunction with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), sponsors a yearlong fellowship for a mathematician in the US Congress. The AMS Congressional Fellow spends a year working on the staff of either a member of Congress or a congressional committee, working in legislative and policy areas requiring scientific and technical input. The fellowship includes orientation on congressional and executive branch operations and a seminar series on issues involving science, technology, and public policy.
Applicants must have a PhD or equivalent doctoral-level degree by the application deadline and must be US citizens. Federal employees are not eligible. For more information, see https://www.ams.org/government/ams-congressional-fellowship. To apply, see https://www.mathjobs.org/jobs/list/23037.
—AMS Communications
AMS Hosts Graduate Education Mini-Conference
On September 28, 2023, representatives from the American Mathematical Society Committee on Education, the National Association of Mathematicians (NAM), the Math Alliance, and ParaDIGMS hosted the annual education mini-conference on enhancing graduate programs in the mathematical sciences. Approximately 50 people attended the mini-conference online and in person in Washington DC, according to event organizer Tyler Kloefkorn, AMS associate director for government relations.
The event focused on three areas: federal resources for graduate programs, supporting nonacademic career paths for mathematicians, and making connections between graduate programs and programs at primarily undergraduate institutions
The federal government offers funding, fellowships, and data to graduate programs, as described by a panel of representatives from the National Institutes for Health (NIH), the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), the Department of Energy (DoE) Office of Science, and the National Science Foundation (NSF) National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. Two examples: The NIH Data and Technology Advancement (DATA) National Service Scholar Program invites mathematical scientists to join NIH for one to two years to tackle challenging biomedical data problems, and the DoE’s Computational Science Graduate Fellowship Program covers tuition and provides stipends to awardees in graduate school.
Talitha Washington (Clark Atlanta University / Atlanta University Center) delivered the keynote address, “How the Workforce is Shaping Mathematics Graduate Education.”
“Washington challenged the attendees and organizers to think about how higher education programs in the mathematical sciences should respond to changing demands in the US workforce,” Kloefkorn said. “She highlighted the work of current and former students in the Atlanta University Center Data Science Initiative, noting the critical role of data science in STEM.”
A panel of PhD mathematical scientists representing government, industry, and consulting/nonprofits discussed how graduate programs can improve and expand pathways to nonacademic careers. They cited internships, supportive mentoring, access to nonacademic networks, and a willingness to explore different career paths. “Even with the large and growing number of PhD mathematicians who end up in BEGIN careers, several panelists noted that there are cultural challenges to exploring and pursuing nonacademic jobs in graduate school,” Kloefkorn noted.
A town hall discussion on demystifying the graduate school process concluded the event.
—AMS Communications
Departments Coordinate Job Offer Deadlines
For the past twenty-three years, the American Mathematical Society has led the effort to gain broad endorsement for the following proposal:
That mathematics departments and institutes agree not to require a response prior to a certain date (usually around February 1 of a given year) to an offer of a postdoctoral position that begins in the fall of that year.
This proposal is linked to an agreement made by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that the recipients of the NSF Mathematical Sciences Postdoctoral Fellowships would be notified of their awards, at the latest, by the end of January.
This agreement ensures that our young colleagues entering the postdoctoral job market have as much information as possible about their options before making a decision. It also allows departmental hiring committees adequate time to review application files and make informed decisions. From our perspective, this agreement has worked well and has made the process more orderly. There have been very few negative comments. Last year, more than 185 mathematics and applied mathematics departments and institutes endorsed the agreement.
Therefore, we propose that mathematics departments again collectively enter into the same agreement for the upcoming cycle of recruiting, with the deadline set for Monday, February 5, 2024. The NSF’s Division of Mathematical Sciences has already agreed that it will complete its review of applications and notify all applicants no later than Friday, January 26, 2024.
The American Mathematical Society facilitated the process by sending an email message to all doctoral-granting mathematics and applied mathematics departments and mathematics institutes. The list of departments and institutes endorsing this agreement will be widely announced on the AMS website and updated weekly through January.
We ask that you view a proposed updated version of last year’s formal agreement at http://www.ams.org/employment/postdoc-offers.html along with this year’s list of adhering departments.
Important: To streamline this year’s process for all involved, we ask that you notify the AMS (postdoc-deadline@ams.org) if and only if:
(1) your department is not listed and you would like to be listed as part of the agreement; or
(2) your department is listed and you would like to withdraw from the agreement and be removed from the list.
Please feel free to email us with questions and concerns. Thank you for consideration of the proposal.
—Sarah Bryant, AMS Director of Programs
Lucy R. Maddock, Interim AMS Executive Director
Deaths of AMS Members
Daniel Henry Gottlieb, of Marina del Rey, California, died on January 19, 2022. Born on December 7, 1937, he was a member of the Society for 62 years.
Erwin Kleinfeld, of Reno, Nevada, died on January 14, 2022. Born on April 19, 1927, he was a member of the Society for 72 years.
Clinton M. Petty, of San Marcos, California, died on December 16, 2021. Born on June 4, 1923, he was a member of the Society for 68 years.
Emma Previato, of Boston, Massachusetts, died on June 29, 2022. Born on November 29, 1952, she was a member of the Society for 42 years.
Jean-Marc Terrier, of Canada, died on January 3, 2023. Born on July 11, 1935, he was a member of the Society for 55 years.