The 27th Annual Nebraska Conference for Undergraduate Women in Mathematics (NCUWM) will be held in-person January 31-February 2, 2025, in Lincoln, Nebraska, at the Embassy Suites and University of Nebraska-Lincoln City Campus. The priority submission window for students wishing to give presentations was October 1 to October 18, 2024. Presenter applications are now closed. Non-presenter registrations will be accepted for as long as we have space through November 15, 2024. The registration fee is $50.
Women, and particularly women of color, are underrepresented in the mathematical sciences, especially among jobs that require graduate education. We at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) recognize the need to encourage and mentor undergraduate women in mathematics to pursue graduate study in mathematics and to seek mathematical careers. We do this by annually hosting the NCUWM, made possible with generous support from the National Science Foundation and the National Security Agency, for undergraduates that provides role models, insider knowledge, opportunities to present undergraduate research, and a growing community of peers interested in issues related to creating a supportive environment for women in mathematics.
The University of Nebraska does not discriminate based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and/or political affiliation in its programs, activities, or employment. The NCUWM is open to all undergraduate students age 19 or older and their faculty advisors. For complete rules and procedures related to registration see the Application, Selection and Policies section below.
Although we do not regard this conference as an appropriate venue for faculty representatives to recruit applicants for their graduate programs, we would like to encourage departments to contact us about sponsoring graduate students from their programs at the conference.
2023 NCUWM Group Photo
Our History
As the UNL department looked back on the 1980s, it recognized that 23 men had earned their Ph.D. but not a single woman had earned a Ph.D. during the decade. The department made a commitment to create a supportive and welcoming environment for women to study mathematics. By 1998, the department received a Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring because of its success in mentoring women graduate students to the Ph.D. To celebrate the award and continue its efforts to create a supportive environment for women in mathematics, the department hosted its first Nebraska Conference for Undergraduate Women in Mathematics in early 1999. It is important to note that by paying attention to issues that support women in mathematics, the UNL graduate program in mathematics became a more successful program for all students, regardless of gender. For example, in the decade of the 2010s, 45 women and 68 men earned their Ph.D. in mathematics.
Plenary Speakers
Shelly Harvey, Ph.D.
Rice University
Tasha Inniss, Ph.D.
Spelman College
Ulrike Meier Yang, Ph.D.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Invited Guests
Tai-Danie Bradley
Research Mathematician
SandboxAQ
Jan Cameron
Program Director
National Science Foundation
Serena Lipari
Post-Masters Research Associate
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Juanita Pinzón Caicedo
Assistant Professor
University of Notre Dame
Laurel S.
Mathematician
National Security Agency
Invited Graduate Students
Megan Fairchild
Louisiana State University
Hailey Maxwell
Wake Forest University
Ally Nagasawa-Hinck
University of California, Davis
Abigail Price
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Tatum Rask
Colorado State University
Application, Selection and Policies
Students interested in presenting a talk or poster at the 2025 conference should complete an application between Oct. 1 and Oct. 18, 2024. Presenter applications received after Oct. 18 will be reviewed as long as talk and poster slots remain open. Non-presenters and faculty registrations will be accepted for as long as we have space through November 15, 2024. Students who are listed in registrations as co-presenters must also register for the conference by Nov. 14 or before capacity is reached.
Registration fees: The rate is $50 per person and is collected at the time of registration unless the individual's institution is paying and requests an invoice.
The following policies apply:
- Attendees must be at least 19 years of age at the time of the conference.
- Students must have sophomore standing our higher
- Each home institution will be limited to a maximum of four presenters. For the 2024 conference, we recommend no more than six total students attend from each school. No refunds will be given for any registration fees.
- Abstracts will be read by the organizing committee, which will select 48 for talks and as many for posters as can be accommodated. Preference will be given to original research, loosely defined as work that includes some mathematical results obtained by the student, possibly with collaborators. Applicants whose abstracts are selected for either a talk or a poster are presenters; all other student applicants are non-presenters.
- Selection of abstracts will be done primarily on merit, except that each home institution will be limited to a maximum of three talks and a total of four presenters.
- Students chosen as presenters will be accepted to the conference, provided they complete their registration by Nov. 17 and pay the registration fee.
These policies were crafted to fit a wide range of institutional situations, but nobody can anticipate all possibilities. If you believe that your situation is sufficiently unusual that it warrants special consideration, please have your faculty advisor contact Alex Zupan, NCUWM Co-Chair, at zupan@unl.edu.
Statement of Appropriate Conduct at NCUWM
To provide all participants – undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, speakers, panelists, staff, and volunteers – the opportunity to benefit from the event, NCUWM is committed to providing a harassment-free environment for everyone, regardless of gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, ethnicity, religion, or other group identity.
NCUWM seeks to provide an opportunity for diverse participants to learn, network, and enjoy the company of colleagues in an environment of mutual human respect. We recognize a shared responsibility to create and hold that environment for the benefit of all. Some behaviors are, therefore, specifically prohibited:
- Harassment or intimidation based on race, religion, language, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, appearance, or other group status.
- Sexual harassment or intimidation, including unwelcome sexual attention, stalking (physical or virtual), or unsolicited physical contact.
- Yelling at or threatening speakers (verbally or physically or virtually).
All participants are expected to observe these rules and behaviors in all conference venues, including online meeting rooms and social events. Participants asked to stop a hostile or harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately. Videos and screen shares must be harassment-free at all times. Conference participants seek to learn, network, and have fun. Please do so responsibly and with respect for the right of others to do likewise.
Please contact designated NCUWM staff (identified during the conference), or any member of the organizing committee whom you are comfortable with, if you believe you have been harassed or that a harassment problem exists. Any such reports will be investigated immediately and appropriate actions taken, but only if desired by the person who was harassed. Reports will ultimately be directed to the Title IX Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which will determine and carry out the appropriate course of action, and may consult with and engage other UNL staff, leaders and legal counsel as appropriate.
How NCUWM Can Benefit You
Sponsors
NCUWM is generously supported by the National Science Foundation; the National Security Agency; the UNL Center for Science, Mathematics and Computer Education; and the UNL Department of Mathematics. We thank the NSF and NSA for their funding support over the past two decades. We also want to acknowledge the institutions that provide travel and registration support to their students who attend, which in turn allows us to utilize our NSF support for travel to additional attendees.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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Contact Info
Nebraska Conference for Undergraduate Women in Mathematics
UNL Department of Mathematics
203 Avery Hall
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, NE 68588-0130
Phone: 402.472.8979
ncuwm@unl.edu