13th International meeting of EWM

September 3-6, 2007
Cambridge, UK

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Short Report

The 13th general meeting of European Women in Mathematics, EWM 2007, took place during 3-6 September at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences in the University of Cambridge, England.

An impressive number of 85 women from 25 countries attended the meeting. Accommodation had been arranged at the Fitzwilliam and St. John’s colleges in Cambridge.

Talks at EWM07 covered a wide range of mathematical areas, and all the speakers were encouraged to spend a few minutes introducing themselves and their background. Enthusiastic presentations were to be heard on e.g. sympletic geometry and algebraic number theory.

The invited speakers included

Ana Achucarro, Lorenz Institute, Leiden: Theoretical Physics,

Toni Beardon, OBE Cambridge, UK: Mathematics Education,

Natalia Berloff, DAMTP, Cambridge UK: Quantum Fluids,

Lenore Blum, Carnegie Mellon University, USA: Theoretical Computer Science,

Simone Gutt Univ. Libre de Bruxelles: Symplectic Geometry,

Eleny Ionel, Stanford, USA: Symplectic Geometry,

Dusa McDuff, Stonybrook, USA: Symplectic Geometry,

Cheryl Praeger, University of Western Australia: Group Theory,

Vera Sos, Budapest: Combinatorics,

Ramdorai Sujatha, Tata Institute, Mumbai: Number Theory.

In addition to scientific talks, there were reports from regional coordinators, a discussion on the role and future of EWM, a discourse on mathematics in developing countries, splinter sessions devoted to short talks and posters, and short talks on mathematics education. During the General Assembly Meeting, the new Standing Committee was elected for the following two years.

The organisers had arranged a reception at the Master’s Lodge in Trinity College, a buffet reception at Newnham College followed by a talk by Toni Beardon on ‘The impact of computers and the internet on globalizing mathematics education’, a reception at Cambridge University Press and a punting trip on the River Cam. The conference banquet on Wednesday evening took place in the Old Kitchens at Trinity College.

The meeting was a big success, and we look forward to the next meeting in 2009.

Christin Borge and Camilla Hollanti
September 2007