This Friday and Saturday, Women in Math (WiM) will be celebrating International Women’s Day with several activities, including research, career development, and networking events.
“Both WiM’s undergraduate and graduate committees wanted to celebrate International Women’s Day, as did the Combinatorics and Optimization department,” says Yu-Ru Liu, professor of Pure Mathematics and director of Women in Math. “I am excited to be able to support several different initiatives celebrating women in mathematics.”
On Friday morning (11:30 am-12:30 pm, MC 5501), there will be a panel discussion in which participants discuss the challenges female mathematicians encounter in their academic journeys and how they overcame them. The panel will feature distinguished guest Tal Rabin, professor of computer and information science at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as four Waterloo faculty: Barbara Csima (Canadian Mathematical Society president-elect, professor of Pure Mathematics), Ghazal Geshnizjani ( faculty at the Perimeter Institute and Applied Mathematics, former WiM chair), Christiane Lemieux (associate dean, operations and academic, professor of Statistics and Actuarial Science), and Yuying Li (associate director for Data Science, professor in the Cheriton School of Computer Science). A light lunch will be provided.
On Friday afternoon (3:30-4:30 pm, MC 5501), Tal Rabin will give a talk, “Information Theoretic MPC: Techniques that Age Well,” for the Dean’s Distinguished Women in Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science Lecture Series, presented jointly by the Department of Combinatorics and Optimization and the Women in Mathematics Committee, as part of the Tutte Colloquium. Rabin’s talk will discuss multiparty protocols and their applicants.
From 5:30 to 7:30 pm (DC 1301), registered undergraduate attendees will have the chance to participate in the interdisciplinary WOW (Women of Waterloo) Speed Networking Event, which was organized by WiM’s undergraduate committee in conjunction with women+ clubs/committees across campus, including FemPhys, oSTEM, QTPOC KW, WiCS, WiE, WiHc and WiSTEM.
Finally, on Saturday from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm (SLC Graduate Lounge), WiM’s graduate committee is hosting a one-day “Academia or Industry?” workshop, in which participants will meet with alumni in both academia and industry to learn more about these two different career paths.
“We expect the networking event and the workshop to connect students and bridge them with female leaders. We also hope the panel discussion will help students feel less separated and gain confidence in overcoming obstacles in their mathematical journeys. Finally, Tal's talk will help the community recognize her outstanding work with the goal that she becomes an inspiration for our students,” Liu says.
You can learn more about Women in Math by visiting their website.