Assistant Professor Martha Makowski and the Department of Mathematics are recipients of a 2021 Tensor Women and Mathematics Award.  The funds will be used to organize the Yellowhammer Network for Women in the Mathematical Sciences, which will kick off with a one-day workshop in the Fall.

• Project Title: Forging the Yellowhammer Network of Women in the Mathematical Sciences
• Project Director: Martha Makowski
• Project Summary: The Forging the Yellowhammer Network of Women in the Mathematical Sciencesworkshop will bring together female and non-cis gendered graduate students and faculty working in Alabama (the Yellowhammer state) to provide field-specific professional development and mentoring. The primary goal of the one-day workshop is to connect female and non-cis gendered graduate students and faculty working in the mathematical sciences to engage with opportunities for multi-tiered mentoring. In addition, the workshop seeks to facilitate exploration of how gender expression shapes professional experiences in the mathematical sciences and begin forging an active network of female and non-cis faculty members in Alabama. Workshop activities include a mixture of informal networking, general sessions designed to build professional knowledge, career-stage specific professional mentoring, and peer mentoring. To promote the relationship building beyond the workshop, time during the event will be provided for peer-mentoring groups, formed based on career stage, to make plans for supporting each other moving forward. These plans will be surveyed and followed up on to assess the project’s success.

MAA’s Tensor Women & Mathematics program supports projects designed to encourage college and university women and pre-college girls to study mathematics. The Tensor Foundation also supports projects designed to encourage the pursuit and enjoyment of mathematics by students of groups historically underrepresented in mathematics. Learn more about MAA Tensor here.