The Association for Women in Mathematics will continue the program of awarding travel support for women mathematicians to attend domestic or foreign research conferences. The proposed level of funding will allow approximately 75 grants, in amounts from $250 to $1,500, to be awarded over a three year period.
Additional funds are requested to establish a pilot program of awards to women mathematicians for travel, to work with particular individuals in their research area for brief periods of time. The proposed level of funding for these mentoring travel grants would allow three to six grants per year of $4000 each over a period of 3 years.
Both programs are intended to enhance the research capability and the visibility of women mathematicians, to expand the influence of their work, and to increase their ability to inspire women at less advanced levels to pursue (or continue) careers in mathematics, in the sciences, or in other fields requiring substantial mathematical training. Both programs seek (directly or indirectly) to make the presence of women at places where research is being reported or done a normal professional expectation, and to mitigate the persistant problem of having too few women speakers at many mathematical conferences. Both programs should be important tools for the retention of women mathematicians in academic life. To assess the impact of this program, and to see if there are ways the program could be improved, a study will be taken of the effectiveness of past NSF grants to AWM for travel grants.
