SIAM's Commitment to

Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion

As a professional society, SIAM is committed to empowering equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in all aspects of our community. In pursuit of this commitment, SIAM is dedicated to the philosophy of equality of opportunity and treatment for all participants regardless of gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion or religious belief, age, marital status, disabilities, veteran status, and field of expertise. 

Read our Statement on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Meet the SIAM Vice President for EDI

SIAM has a Vice President for EDI who works to expand SIAM membership across all demographics, support equity and inclusion within SIAM programs and activities, and ensure that SIAM is effectively serving its entire diverse community. This important position serves as a liaison on many joint committees as a representative of SIAM. This person also creates DEI-focused communications that are disseminated to the SIAM community. Ron Buckmire, Occidental College, is serving as the SIAM VP for EDI from January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2024. Learn more.

One of my goals in this position is to enhance EDI at both individual and systemic scales. We are doing this by providing opportunities for individual SIAM members who are members of groups underrepresented in the mathematical sciences community as well as instituting policy changes that will broaden future participation by people who currently feel excluded from the SIAM community.

Ron Buckmire, SIAM Vice President for EDI Occidental College

SIAM Programs in Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion

We work to provide an inclusive environment that encourages the open expression and exchange of ideas, uplifting and supporting those in our community. A primary means of doing this is through our robust programming.

SIAM Activity Group on EDI

In late 2022, the SIAM Board and Council approved the creation of a SIAM Activity Group on EDI. The purpose of the group is advocacy and support for equity, diversity, and inclusion within the field of applied mathematics, as well as discussion and dissemination of best practices for creating and sustaining equitable, diverse, and inclusive environments within the field of applied mathematics.

MGB-SIAM Early Career Fellowship

In 2021, SIAM launched the MGB-SIAM Early Career Fellowship, which recognizes the achievements of early career applied mathematicians – particularly those belonging to racial and ethnic groups historically excluded from the mathematical sciences in the United States — and provides support for professional activities and career development. This fellowship reflects a joint commitment by Mathematically Gifted & Black (MGB) and SIAM to promote long-term engagement of program participants within SIAM and continued success within the wider applied mathematics and computational sciences community.

SIAM-Simons Undergraduate Summer Research Program

Through the support of the Simons Foundation, in 2023 SIAM established a new applied mathematics and computational science program that will provide research, networking, and mentorship opportunities to U.S. students from underrepresented groups. Each year, this program will establish five sites across the United States for one faculty mentor and two students per site to work together for six weeks. Students will learn how to conduct scientific research, effectively communicate mathematics and computational science principles, and will gain an improved understanding of how they can pursue a career in applied mathematics and computational science.

Outreach Memberships

Outreach members receive a deep discount on membership dues. The intent of the outreach membership is to help make SIAM benefits accessible to a wider and more global group of applied and computational mathematicians. To qualify, you must currently reside in a developing country.

SIAM EDI Change Agents Program

This program brings together groups of academic and industrial members, graduate and undergraduate students, postdocs, and established researchers who will individually and/or collectively work on initiatives to foster an equitable, diverse, and inclusive SIAM community.

SIAM Diversity Advisory Committee

SIAM has a longtime Diversity Advisory Committee, the purpose of which is to advise SIAM on policy issues that will broaden the participation of groups that are currently underrepresented and historically marginalized in the mathematical sciences. The committee works with the SIAM Vice President for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion to advise SIAM on these issues.

I’m eager to be more involved with the SIAM community and help build a larger community of researchers from underrepresented groups. I am particularly excited about organizing minisymposia with my cohort, as well as having open discussions about diversity in mathematics and how we can effectively represent and advocate for our communities.

Fatoumata Sanogo, Bates College 2024 MGB-SIAM Early Career Fellow
Making Meaningful Connections

NAM & AWM Reciprocal Memberships

SIAM has reciprocal membership partnerships with the National Association of Mathematicians (NAM) and the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM). This means individuals who belong to NAM or AWM get 30% off SIAM membership, and vice versa. NAM is a non-profit professional organization dedicated to promoting excellence in the mathematical sciences and the mathematical development of all underrepresented minorities. AWM is a professional society whose mission is to encourage women and girls to study and to have active careers in the mathematical sciences, while promoting equal opportunity.

EDI at SIAM Conferences 

From providing onsite childcare to integrating affinity groups into conference programming, SIAM takes meaningful steps at our conferences and otherwise to support DEI. The SIAM Vice President for Programs and SIAM Vice President for EDI are responsible for ensuring the diversity of the community such that there is diverse representation on conference programs, steering committees, and organizing committee, as well as on panels and amongst speakers. Below are specific conference events related to DEI:

Workshop Celebrating Diversity at SIAM Annual Meetings

This annual event provides a particular opportunity for presentations of research talks by graduate students, early career researchers, and sometimes more senior researchers from groups underrepresented in applied and computational mathematics. The workshop is intended to accomplish several goals:

  • To send a clear, explicit message of enthusiastic welcome and support from SIAM to members of underrepresented groups. The workshop is deliberately held as part of a regular SIAM meeting so that the participants can combine the experiences of attending a regular scientific meeting and a special occasion dedicated to them.
  • To bring together a mixture of people from different levels of age and professional experience, ranging from undergraduate students to senior scientists.
  • To provide an opportunity for underrepresented minority graduate students to present their research.
  • To provide an informal, comfortable, and special setting, the Workshop Celebrating Diversity Luncheon, where we make sure that presenting students and early career from underrepresented backgrounds get the opportunity to meet with each other and with SIAM leadership and other applied and computational mathematicians with a wide variety of jobs in academia, national laboratories, industry, and government.
AWM Workshops at SIAM Annual Meetings 

As part of our longstanding partnership, at each SIAM Annual Meeting, the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) hosts a series of workshops which include technical sessions, panel discussions, poster sessions, and mentoring lunches. 

Collaborations with Spectra 

SIAM has a close collaboration with Spectra, the association for LGBTQ+ mathematicians and their allies. Spectra receptions are regularly held at SIAM conferences, where members of the community can socialize, meet each other, and learn more about Spectra and its future plans. 

Student and Early Career Conference Travel Support

SIAM Student and Early Career Travel Awards are here to help young researchers gain the experience and exposure that comes from attending and presenting at SIAM conferences. To ensure that all interested individuals have the opportunity to attend SIAM conferences, SIAM and the Steering Committee Chair publicly and widely advertise the program, including on blogs and mailing lists for underrepresented groups.

Other Special Events

Along the many longstanding events that happen at SIAM conferences annually, we have hosted many other special, EDI-focused events, including:

Broader Engagement Program

The mission of this program, organized by Sustainable Horizons Institute, is to expand the SIAM community by supporting individuals from diverse backgrounds while also catalyzing change in the community to create a more inclusive and diverse society.

Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Workshops

To enhance the mathematical community’s understanding of racial equity in applied mathematics research and education, SIAM held its first workshop during the 2021 SIAM Annual Meeting.

Community receptions at SIAM Annual Meeting

These are a wonderful opportunity for the community to come together and include the Block Community Reception, welcome reception, student receptions, and more.

DEI-related minisymposia and minisymposia for openly LGBTQ+ mathematicians

Joint NAM-SIAM Special Session on Quantitative Justice

SIAM Sessions on Advancing Racial Equity in Applied Mathematics and on Quantitative Justice at the Joint Mathematics Meetings

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