About the Mathematics Research Communities Program
The AMS’s Mathematics Research Communities (MRC) is a professional development program offering early-career mathematicians a rich array of opportunities to develop collaborative research skills, build a network focused in an active research domain, and receive mentoring from leaders in that area. Funded through a generous three-year grant from the National Science Foundation, the AMS, and private donors, the MRC is a year-long experience that includes:
- Intensive one-week, hands-on research conferences in the summer;
- Special Sessions at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in the January following the summer conferences;
- Guidance in career building;
- Follow-up small-group collaborations;
- Longer-term opportunities for collaboration and community building among the participants;
Over time, each participant is expected to provide feedback regarding career development and the impact of the MRC program.
Women, underrepresented minorities, and individuals from various types of institutions across the country are all encouraged to apply. The chief criteria for admission are an ability to contribute to the summer conference activities and a capacity to benefit from these interactions.
Since the inception of the MRC program in 2008, over 1,500 alumni from 48 different topical areas have participated. A list of all past MRC summer conference topics can be found here.
The topics for the 2024 summer conferences are listed here.
The summer conferences are typically hosted in consecutive weeks in June at a retreat-style site that is conducive to participant interactions and provides opportunities to enjoy the outdoors. To this point in time, MRCs have been hosted in such locations as Snowbird, Utah and West Greenwich, Rhode Island. The 2024 summer conferences of the MRC will be held at Beaver Hollow Conference Center, Java Center, NY, where participants can enjoy a private, distraction-free environment, conducive to research.
MRC Micro-conferences
Micro-conferences provide opportunities for alumni of past years’ MRCs to re-connect with their peers for collaborative visits. The program provides funding to help underwrite gatherings of gatherings in which MRC alums coordinate and lead short micro-conferences that advance the mathematical work emanating from their original MRC summer conference. Please email the Programs Department with questions, expressions of interest, and proposals to organize.
News and More about MRCs
A number of articles about the MRC program have appeared in various AMS channels, and the following may be of interest either to those applying to participate or to those who plan to organize:
Scott Hershberger, "New collaborations blossom at summer Mathematics Research Communities," News from the AMS, July 7, 2021.
Scott Hershberger, “Early-career researchers gear up for virtual Mathematics Research Communities,” News from the AMS, May 4, 2021.
Leslie Hogben and T. Christine Stevens, "Joining a Mathematical Research Community," Notices of the AMS, 66:7 (August 2019), 1101 – 1107.
Scott Turner, “Math in the Woods,” News from the AMS, August 23, 2019.
Katharine A. Ott, “Fostering Inclusive Communities: Reasons why YOU should organize a Mathematics Research Community,” Notices of the AMS, 65:11 (December 2018), 1444 – 1445.
Questions
Questions should be addressed to the AMS Programs Department.