Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, May 20-22, 2016
The BAMM! Conference, the first of what we hope to be many, was held in Richmond, Virginia in May 2016. Our incredibly rainy weather took a break and we had a beautiful first day on Friday. We enjoyed a wide range of dynamic plenary talks throughout the conference. Dr. Bard Ermentrout, University of Pittsburgh, was our opening act and delighted the audience with a talk on his new research venture in olfaction driven movement. Dr. Leah Keshet, University of British Columbia, gave an overview of her work on understanding molecular motors. Dr. James Keener, University of Utah, discussed the various ways in which diffusion is actually helpful in biological systems and also treated us to a demonstration of the Hodgkin-Huxley Macarena. Dr. Jim Cushing, University of Arizona, gave mathematical motivation for how gull cannibalism could be a viable survival response to rising sea temperatures.
Rebecca Segal
We had about 100 attendees with 40 talks and 40 posters to round out the conference. What we had envisioned as a local conference exceeded our expectations with a vibrant group comprised of mathematicians from 20 states and 3 other countries, from undergraduate students on up. Everyone participated in a networking lunch which allowed great opportunities for career conversations and idea sharing. The poster session took place in VCU’s newly renovated library event space and fostered further conversation and socializing.
The conference was supported by grants from NSF, SMB, MBI, and VCU and was held in cooperation with the Association for Women in Mathematics. We greatly appreciate all the support that allowed for a diverse group of participants.
Rebecca Segal is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA.
Her website is http: // www. people. vcu. edu/ ~rasegal/
