22 September 2017
The University of South Australia is set to host Australia’s largest ever meeting of female mathematicians when the first Women in Mathematics Special Interest Group (WIMSIG) conference - Celebration of Women in Australian Mathematical Sciences 2017 – begins on September 24.
Welcoming 190 delegates from countries around the world; about 160 will be women.
The conference will highlight the breadth and range of mathematical research being undertaken by Australian women, across statistics, pure maths and applied maths, in universities and in industry.
There will be about 100 research talks, all by women.
The conference will also feature presentations on how to improve female participation and career advancement in maths.
Conference organiser, Associate Professor Lesley Ward says the event promises to do a couple of important things.
“We will be showcasing some of the really practical research Australian mathematicians are involved in – everything from modelling the growth of tumour cells, to the design of underground mines and predicting how bakers and brewer’s yeast colonies develop – as well as more theoretical research and how it contributes to new knowledge,” Prof Ward says.
“We will also use the conference to focus on how we can improve female participation in STEM careers, and make women in maths more visible to each other and to employers, but more broadly, how we can improve an appreciation of the vital role of mathematics in everything.”
The two-day conference is drawing participants from across Australia including, Australian Laureate Fellow and Professor in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Sydney, Professor Nalini Joshi, and Australian Laureate Fellow, President of the Australian Mathematical Society and Professor in the School of Mathematical Sciences at Monash University, Professor Kate Smith-Miles, and researchers from Canada, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, New Zealand, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the US.
Key speakers include Distinguished Professor of Statistics at QUT, Prof Kerrie Mengersen; Dr Christine O’Keefe from CSIRO; Prof Malabika Pramanik, University of British Colombia; and Prof Ami Radunskaya from Pomona College in the US.
Organised through the Women in Maths Group (WIMSIG) of the Australian Mathematical Society, Platinum sponsors of the event include the Universities of South Australia, Adelaide and Queensland, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers (ACEMS) and AMSI and its CHOOSEMATHS program in partnership with BHP Billiton Foundation.
Full conference program information is available online
Media contact: Michèle Nardelli mobile 0418 823 673 email michele.nardelli@unisa.edu.au
