Conference: Research, Mentorship, and Community for Current and Future Underrepresented Algebraists

This award will support the conference "Research, Mentorship, and Community for Current and Future Under-represented Algebraists" to be held at Benedictine University on May 31 and June 1, 2025. Recent reports from the scientific and mathematics communities have highlighted a large gap between obtaining a bachelor's degree and a PhD for women and minoritized populations, especially in algebra and related fields. This conference aims to address this disparity by providing opportunities for potential researchers to engage with current algebra research. It will generate and share actionable ideas for meaningful mentorship and community-building, helping to build bridges to advanced study. Participants will strengthen their professional networks, enhance their scholarship, and build mentoring relationships across all levels: undergraduate, graduate, junior faculty, and senior faculty. The conference will serve as a catalyst for action, inspiring participants to become innovators, contributors, and impactful parties for others. This conference has three major themes: Mentoring and Transitioning Across the Profession; Belongingness in Algebra, Opening the Community, and Supporting New Researchers; and Innovation and Impact for Future Researcher. To address these topics, the conference will feature current and future researchers in algebra and related fields from typically underrepresented groups by sharing research, providing networking opportunities, and highlighting mentoring across all levels through structured talks, round tables, and panels. In addition, the conference will create a model with tools and materials for similarly sized conferences to be hosted at other institutions to broaden impact and participation. More details can be found on the conference website https://sites.google.com/view/rmc-algebra-conference/home. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.