Association for Women in Mathematics facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Association for Women in Mathematics

Formation	1971
Type	Professional organization
Headquarters	Providence, Rhode Island
Membership	5200
President	Talitha Washington

The Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) is a group for people who work in math. Its main goal is to help and encourage girls and women to study math and have great careers in math. They also want to make sure women and girls are treated fairly and have equal chances in the world of mathematics.

AWM started in 1971 and has about 5,200 members. This includes over 250 schools, universities, and other math groups. AWM offers many programs and workshops to help women and girls learn and grow in math. A lot of their work is supported by money from the government.

How the AWM Started

The Association for Women in Mathematics began in 1971. It was first called the "Association of Women Mathematicians," but the name changed very quickly.

The idea for women to form their own group came up at a math meeting in 1971. A woman named Joanne Darken suggested that the women stay after the meeting to talk. About six women stayed, including Judy Green, Mary Gray, and Annie Selden. Many people think Mary Gray was key in getting the group organized.

Mary Gray was one of the first organizers and the first president of AWM. She put an ad in a math newspaper in February 1971. She also wrote the very first AWM newsletter in May of that year.

Early on, AWM wanted to make sure women got equal pay for the same work. They also pushed for fair treatment in many areas. This included getting into graduate school, getting jobs at universities, promotions, and even getting government grants.

Alice T. Schafer became the second president after Mary Gray. She set up an AWM office at Wellesley College. This helped AWM become a well-known group in the math community.

AWM holds a big meeting every year called the Joint Mathematics Meetings. In 2011, for its 40th birthday, AWM started a special research event every two years.

The Association for Women in Mathematics Newsletter is the group's magazine. The first issue came out in May 1971. Members can get paper copies of the newsletter. Now, anyone can read or download past and recent issues for free from the AWM website.

Special Lectures

The AWM supports three important lecture series. These lectures honor women who have done amazing things in math.

• The Noether Lectures – These lectures celebrate women who have made big and lasting contributions to math. They are given at the yearly Joint Mathematics Meetings.
• The Falconer Lectures – These lectures honor women who have made great contributions to math or math education. They are given at the yearly MathFest.
• The Kovalevsky Lectures – These lectures honor women who have made important contributions to applied math or math using computers. They are named after the famous mathematician Sonia Kovalevsky. These lectures happen at the annual meeting of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM).

Awards and Prizes

The AWM also gives out several awards and prizes. These awards recognize women for their achievements in math.

• Alice T. Schafer Prize – This award is given each year to a female college student for being excellent in mathematics.
• Louise Hay Award – This award is given each year for outstanding work by a woman in math education.
• M. Gweneth Humphreys Award – This award is given each year to a woman in math who is great at mentoring others.
• Ruth I. Michler Memorial Prize – This award is given each year to a woman who recently earned a permanent teaching position in math. The prize helps her spend a semester at Cornell University without having to teach.
• AWM Service Award - This award is given each year to women who have helped support and promote women in mathematics through special volunteer work for AWM.

AWM also sponsors three newer prizes for women who are early in their math careers.

• AWM-Birman Research Prize – Given every two years since 2015 for amazing research in topology or geometry.
• AWM-Microsoft Research Prize – Given every two years since 2014 for amazing research in algebra or number theory.
• AWM-Sadosky Research Prize – Given every two years since 2014 for amazing research in analysis.

The AWM also has a "Fellows" program. This program recognizes people who have shown a strong dedication to helping and advancing women in math.

Presidents

See also

In Spanish: Asociación de Mujeres en Matemáticas para niños

• African Women in Mathematics Association
• European Women in Mathematics
• Femmes et Mathématiques
• List of women in mathematics