Notices of the American Mathematical Society
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The Women and Mathematics Program at the Institute for Advanced Study
The Women and Mathematics (WAM) Program at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) has hosted approximately 1700 individuals over the last 30 years, including undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral participants, as well as lecturers, colloquia speakers, panelists, and organizers. Many of the past participants of WAM have continued in careers in academic mathematics and math-related professions.
Recent WAM Program themes and lecturers.
| Year | Theme | Lecturers |
| 2025 | Convexity and Combinatorics in Algebraic Geometry | Melody Chan, Cynthia Vinzant |
| 2024 | Symmetry and Arithmetic | Ana Caraiani, Charlotte Chan |
| 2023 | Patterns in Integers: Dynamical and Number Theoretic Approaches | Tamar Ziegler, Lillian Pierce |
| 2022 | The Mathematics of Machine Learning | Maria Florina Balcan, Cynthia Rudin |
| 2021 | Representation Theory: Categories and Combinatorics | Catharina Stroppel, Monica Vazirani |
| 2019 | Topics in Geometric Analysis | Panagiota Daskalopoulos, Tatiana Toro |
| 2018 | Mathematics of Modern Cryptography | Kristin Lauter, Toni Bluher |
The overarching mission of the program is to recruit and retain more women in mathematics. WAM aims to counter the imbalance of those entering mathematics training as well as the higher attrition rate of mathematicians from underrepresented groups at every critical transition stage in their mathematical careers. By providing a high-level academic environment and by building an effective network of mathematicians who are often unsupported in their undergraduate or graduate programs and departments, WAM encourages mathematicians to form collaborative research relationships and to become active in a large vertical mentoring network. The program has features tailored for undergraduate students, graduate students, and researchers from a broad spectrum of institutions.
The next WAM Program, in May 2025, will focus on “Convexity and Combinatorics in Algebraic Geometry.” Each year, applications are available on MathPrograms.org, with a deadline in mid-February. All, regardless of gender, are welcome to apply.
History
WAM has its roots in the 1993 Mentoring Program for Women in Mathematics as part of the Park City Mathematics Institute (PCMI), when all of the women attending the undergraduate and graduate programs at PCMI were invited to a two-week program, organized by Antonella Grassi and held at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley, California. Later that year, when IAS received funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to become a permanent sponsor of PCMI, this Mentoring Program moved to IAS in Princeton, New Jersey, as a key initiative of the IAS Director’s Office, with the support of the NSF and Princeton University. At the request of IAS Director Philip Griffiths, Karen Uhlenbeck agreed to organize the program with her collaborator Chuu-Lian Terng as a co-organizer, and they continued to lead the program until 2007—and still advise the program to this day! WAM became its own program, administered independently of PCMI, in 2002.
Over the years, many prominent mathematicians—including Sun-Yung Alice Chang, Ingrid Daubechies, Antonella Grassi, Nancy Hingston, Tanya Khovanova, Dusa McDuff, Elizabeth Milićević, Linda Ness, Margaret Readdy, Christine Taylor, Chuu-Lian Terng, and Karen Uhlenbeck—have all played leading roles in organizing the program. Hundreds of other senior women, especially those on the rotating program committee, have volunteered to mentor participants, give lectures and colloquia, participate in panel discussions, read applications, and so much more. WAM is currently supported by IAS, NSF, Lisa Simonyi, the Minerva Research Foundation, the Princeton University Department of Mathematics, and the Robert S. Hillas Fund.
Community interaction and networking are also important aspects of WAM. There are numerous meta-mathematical and social activities, such as lunch table discussions or evening chats about applying to graduate schools or postdoctoral positions, career panels, women-in-science seminars, movie screenings, art projects, and public lectures. Mathematicians from nearby institutions often stop by for these activities or just for lunch, tea, or dinner to chat with the participants. The participants also spend a day at nearby Princeton University, where they meet faculty and students, attend research lectures and panel discussions, and enjoy a campus tour and dinner in downtown Princeton.
The May program
The structure of the program has evolved several times over the years to better fit the needs—and busy schedules!—of participants; currently, the major activities of WAM take place during one week each May on the idyllic IAS campus. Each year, WAM focuses on a theme of current research interest. The main scientific component consists of two lecture series, each with four hours of lectures by a distinguished mathematician in the field as well as problem sessions led by teaching assistants. The program also features research seminars by advanced graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and senior mathematicians, as well as at least one colloquium.
Alumni
The WAM alumni network includes many women in mathematics academia and related fields, and the Ambassador Program
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14 out of 33 Alice Schafer Prize winners,
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16 out of 27 Elizabeth Lowell Putnam Award winners,
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71 out of 600 female NSF Graduate Research fellows in math,
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52 out of 215 female NSF math postdoctoral fellows,
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30 out of 92 female Sloan Fellows in math,
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36 out of 161 female ICM invited speakers since 1990,
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9 out of 16 female ICM plenary speakers, and
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11 out of 25 female American Academy of Arts and Sciences members in math.
The program itself has been recognized by awards from national organizations, including the 2019 “Programs that Make a Difference Award” from the American Mathematical Society and the 2023 Presidential Recognition Award from the Association for Women in Mathematics.
Further information about the program and its history may be found on the website
References
[ 1] - WAM Ambassador Program, Institute for Advanced Study, https://www.ias.edu/math/wam/about/ambassador.
[ 2] - Women and Mathematics News, Institute for Advanced Study, https://www.ias.edu/math/wam/news.
[ 3] - Women and Mathematics, Institute for Advanced Study, https://www.ias.edu/math/wam.
[ 4] - Deanna B. Haunsperger, Community and belonging in mathematics, Amer. Math. Monthly 130 (2023), no. 9, 787–794, DOI 10.1080/00029890.2023.2240233. MR4658291,
Show rawAMSref
\bib{countmein}{article}{ author={Haunsperger, Deanna B.}, title={Community and belonging in mathematics}, journal={Amer. Math. Monthly}, volume={130}, date={2023}, number={9}, pages={787--794}, issn={0002-9890}, review={\MR {4658291}}, doi={10.1080/00029890.2023.2240233}, }
Wei Ho is the director of W
Article DOI: 10.1090/noti3089
Credits
Photo of Wei Ho is courtesy of Abbey Ellis, Institute for Advanced Study.