Skip to Main Content

The 2024-2025 Joan and Joseph Birman Fellowship for Women Scholars

The Joan and Joseph Birman Fellowship for Women Scholars The Joan and Joseph Birman Fellowship for Women Scholars is a mid-career research fellowship specially designed to fit the unique needs of women. This fellowship program is made possible by a generous gift from Joan and Joseph Birman.

The fellowship seeks to address the paucity of women at the highest levels of research in mathematics by giving exceptionally talented women extra research support during their mid-career years.

The most likely awardee will be a mid-career woman, based at a U.S. institution, whose achievements demonstrate significant potential for further contributions to mathematics. 

Candidates must have a statement regarding the applicant's overall program of research, past and planned, that is meaningful to mathematicians who are not specialists. The statement should be no more than three pages, including bibliographical references. Special circumstances (such as time taken off for care of children or other family members) may be taken into consideration in making the award. Awardees may use the fellowship in any way that most effectively enables their research - for instance, for release time, participation in special research programs, travel support, childcare, etc. The award is issued through the recipient's institution, however, institutions may not charge costs of any kind to AMS fellowships, such as fringe benefit rate, indirect costs, or overhead.

One award will be made for the 2025–2026 academic year in the amount of US$50,000. AMS membership will also be offered to the recipient for the duration of the Fellowship.

 

 

AMS :: Joan and Joseph Birman Fellowship for Women Scholars
Most Recent Fellowship: 2024

Greta Panova, Gabilan Distinguished Professor of Science and Engineering and professor of mathematics at the University of Southern California, has been awarded the 2024-2025 AMS Joan and Joseph Birman Fellowship for Women Scholars. Panova?s research is in Algebraic Combinatorics with connections to Representation Theory, Computational Complexity Theory within Theoretical Computer Science and with Probability and Statistical Mechanics. Separately, she works with a team of molecular biologists on modeling DNA repair dynamics.

Fellowship announcement as seen in the news release.

See previous winners

Read a feature story in Notices of the AMS about past Birman Fellows (PDF).

 

How to apply

The application form requires the following information:

  • Research Statement: a statement regarding the applicant's overall program of research, past and planned, that is meaningful to mathematicians who are not specialists. The statement should be no more than three pages, including bibliographical references.
  • Research Plan: a detailed research plan for the fellowship period that is contextualized by the research statement. The plan should include a description of how the fellowship will support the applicant's success. It should be no more than one page.
  • Key Professional Accomplishments: a list of up to ten publications or other professional activities that demonstrate the applicant's contributions to the mathematics profession. This list should be no more than one page.
  • Current and Pending Support: a list of current and pending research awards. For each, indicate the support status (current or pending), project/proposal title, source of support, total award amount, award period (start and end dates), location of project, and person-months per year committed to the project (calendar year, academic year, or summer)
  • Positions and Fellowships since PhD: a list of all fellowships and comparable research appointments, such as a term at one of the mathematical institutes. Do not attach a vita.
  • References: a list of three reference writers who can address the applicant’s accomplishments and research potential. Use the email links on the coversheet to send a password and instructions directly to the writers.
  • 2-3 page NSF-style Biographical Sketch

 

Applications will be accepted on MathPrograms from July 15 through September 30, 2024 (11:59 p.m. EDT).

Contact

Provide your email to receive occasional communications from the AMS about research fellowships and other opportunities.
Questions about the Birman Fellowship? Email us!

For all other Programs inquiries email AMS Programs staff.