Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Department of Mathematics Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Vision Statement

The Department of Mathematics at Iowa State University strives to create a community committed to diversity, equity and inclusion in mathematical education, research, and outreach. We envision a Department where every person belongs and can find the support, encouragement, and tools to succeed in their mathematical fields of interest.

 

Department of Mathematics Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Mission Statement

We understand that inclusion is a shared responsibility. Members of the department will seek to welcome, listen, and include the perspectives that different experiences and lifestyles have to offer. We create, support, advocate for and sustain programs with DEI as part of their goals and actively participate in the shared governance of the department.The resources and items below highlight some of these works towards fulfilling our vision and mission. If you have any questions regarding any of these programs, please contact Dr. Pablo Raúl Stinga, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at stinga@iastate.edu.

Stinga’s co-advisee awarded 2023 Association for Women in Mathematics Dissertation Prize

María Soria-Carro has been awarded one of the three 2023 Association for Women in Mathematis (AWM) Dissertation Prize: https://awm-math.org/awards/awm-dissertation-prize/

Soria-Carro graduated in 2022 from the University of Texas at Austin with a PhD in Mathematics dissertation entitled “Regularity of elliptic transmission problems and a new family of integro-differential operators related to the Monge-Ampère equation.”

Her co-advisors were Luis A. Caffarelli (UT Austin) and Pablo Raúl Stinga (ISU). Stinga is Associate Professor in the Deparment of Mathematics, and the Department’s Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

The AWM Dissertation Prize is an annual award for up to three outstanding PhD dissertations presented by female mathematical scientists and defended during the 24 months preceding the deliberations for the award. The Prizes are given to those dissertations deemed most outstanding by the award committee.

During her time as a graduate student, Soria-Carro visited ISU in two occasions, one of them as an invited plenary speaker to the 2019 Midwest Geometry Conference held on campus. She currently holds a postdoctoral position at Rutgers University.

 

Pelin Guven Geredeli earns grants from National Science Foundation and Simons Foundation

Pelin Guven Geredeli, assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics, has earned two grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF), as well as a grant from the Simons Foundation.

The first $200,000 NSF award will fund her research project, “Control Theory, Qualitative Analysis and Approximation of Coupled Structure-Flow Interaction Systems.” The NSF will support this research until 2025.

A second NSF grant will support the 7th annual KUMUNU-ISU Conference on PDE, Dynamical Systems and Applications, which will take place on the Iowa State University campus. Geredeli is spearheading the organization of the conference, which will focus on the qualitative properties and the numerical approximation of the solutions to fluid dynamics, FSI PDE models and coupled hyperbolic and parabolic PDE systems. This two-day conference is scheduled for April 22-23, 2023.

The Simons Foundation Award will support Geredeli’s research, “Qualitative Analysis and Numerical Computation of PDE Systems which Govern Flow/Fluid Structure Interactions.” The $40,000 grant will fund this research until 2027.

Hien Nguyen receives 2022 Women Impacting ISU Calendar honor

Xuan Hien Nguyen, Associate Professor and Coordinator for Actuarial Science, Department of Mathematics, was honored with the 2022 Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics Women Impacting ISU Calendar Award. Learn more here.

Pablo Raúl Stinga Receives LAS Inclusion Award

Pablo Raul Stinga, Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics was honored with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University Award for Inclusive Excellence. The award recognizes faculty and staff who have advanced the college’s mission of diversity, equity, and inclusion outside of their compensated responsibilities through their teaching, scholarship, service, or campus-community outreach.

Sonia Kovalevsky Mathematics Day

Sonia Kovalevsky was a mathematician at a time when women were generally not allowed to hold professor positions. She became a great researcher as well as one of the first modern European women professors. Her significant work in mathematics and advocacy for women’s rights helped open doors for women in the university system.

In honor of Sonia Kovalevsky, Iowa State University organized a Sonia Kovalevsky Mathematics Day on Saturday, March 30, 2019 where young women in grades 6-12, along with their teachers and parents or guardians, attended a day-long program featuring workshops, interactive talks, small group discussions with female mathematicians, and fun math games.

Midwest Mathematics Inclusion and Diversity Workshop

The Midwest Mathematics Inclusion and Diversity Workshop for Undergraduates (MMIDWU) took place at Iowa State University during the weekend of October 20 – 21, 2018, in an effort to collaborate with faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates in mathematics from regional schools. The workshop accomplished three goals:

  • To bring awareness to and reflect on experiences of underrepresented groups in math through awareness sessions;
  • Invite faculty and students to learn about the programs of the department through panel discussions and immersion during the workshop;
  • To develop mathematical skills by featuring six speakers in two concurrent sessions, each prefaced with graduate student introductory sessions.

For more information about the workshop, please visit the workshop’s web site.

Michael Young Receives $300,000 Grant from NSF Foundation

Assistant Professor Michael Young received a $300,000 grant to design and pilot the Mathematician Affiliates of Color Network, that includes mathematicians of color from U.S. colleges, universities and industry who want to invest time in, share their expertise with, and learn from students of color and their teachers. Mathematicians work with teachers in their local school districts to help them understand university expectations and prepare students for college coursework.

Honoring Women Faculty in Mathematics

The Department of Mathematics added a portrait of Maria Roberts, graduate of Iowa State in 1890 and former mathematics faculty member, to the mathematics reading room. Her portrait commemorates the longstanding history of women in mathematics at Iowa State University — a tradition that continues today.

Mathematicians of Color Alliance (MOCA) Student Organization

MOCA is a student group of minority graduate and undergraduate mathematic students whose goal is recruitment, retention. and mentoring of underrepresented students by creating a presence in the department, on campus, and around the nation.

Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) Student Organization

AWM is organized and operated for educational and scientific purposes to promote an increased knowledge of and greater interest in the mathematical sciences, including pure and applied mathematics, statistics, and their applications. It seeks to create a greater understanding of the contributions of women in the mathematical sciences and also mentor and encourage women and girls as they prepare for careers in the mathematical sciences.

AMS Award for an Exemplary Program or Achievement in a Mathematics

The Department of Mathematics at Iowa State is a recipient of the AMS Award for an Exemplary Program or Achievement in a Mathematics Department, the highest honor awarded by the American Mathematical Society to a math department in North America.

The AMS cited ISU’s math department for excellence in several areas including undergraduate education, diversity efforts, mentoring and teamwork. A $5,000 cash prize was included in the award.