Virginia Tech's chapter of the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) was awarded an AWM Innovation Grant to host the VT AWM Symposium on Mathematical Excellence in Virginia, on March 28, 2026. The event was sponsored by AWM, the Virginia Tech Department of Mathematics, and the Graduate Professional and Student Senate at VT. This one-day event brought together 65 attendees including undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty from Virginia Tech, Radford University, and the Virginia Military Institute. Community members shared research and explored career pathways in mathematics.

The symposium featured a plenary lecture by Professor Yun Yang (VT Department of Mathematics), who presented current research and offered insight into the broader mathematical landscape. A central component of the event was two mini-symposium sessions, which included 20 student talks spanning a wide range of topics and one flash talk session which included 10 students talks. In addition, the symposium included a poster session with 4 presenters, encouraging informal discussion and interaction among attendees.

These sessions provided a supportive platform for participants to present their work, gain feedback, and develop their communication skills. A professional development panel brought together Professor Christiana Garcia, Professor Agnieszka Miedlar, Dr. Leah LeJune, and Director of Undergraduate Academics and Inclusive Innovation Kelli Karcher, to share perspectives on academic and industry careers, mentorship, and navigating graduate school.

The event also emphasized community-building through shared meals, coffee breaks, and a dedicated networking session, allowing participants to connect across institutions and career stages. These interactions fostered meaningful conversations, mentorship opportunities, and potential future collaborations. 

graduate student giving a presentation on transition matrices
graduate student giving a presentation at the AWM symposium
students attending the AWM symposium

PhD candidate Julia Shapiro serves as president of the AWM Chapter at VT, which was selected as the winner of the 2021 AWM Student Chapter Award for Scientific Excellence!

"The Award for Scientific Excellence recognizes a student chapter for organizing and hosting a scientific program of excellent quality in the form of a local conference or speaker series, or for its collaborative work with nearby industry or government organizations."

That news story is linked below.

VT AWM Wins Chapter Award