What is A2WiM?
The Austrian Association of Women in Mathematics (A2WiM) was created in 2021 on the initiative of Elena Resmerita by a core team of eight female mathematicians from universities in Graz, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Linz, Vienna, and IST Austria.
We believe that networking can help to bridge the significant gender gap in our field. A2WiM aims to increase the visibility of women mathematicians working at Austrian institutions, to foster interdisciplinary collaborations and mutual support, and also to inspire young women to discover and pursue their interest in mathematics.
Our mission
Our mission
To improve the visibility of women in mathematics in Austria and outside Austria.
To encourage women to take up and continue their studies in mathematics, and to promote mathematics among women.
To support women with or desiring careers in research in mathematics or mathematics related fields.
To promote equal opportunity and equal treatment of all genders in the mathematical community.
The committee
The committee
About Vishnu
Her research: "Did you know that each time you use online banking or play video games, pseudo-random numbers are used? During my PhD (which I defended in January), I studied pseudo-random sequences from hyperelliptic curves, which lies in the intersection of number theory and cryptography. In my current postdoc, I am interested in problems in information based complexity."
Her work for A²WiM: "After attending the first Austrian Day of Women in Mathematics (ADWiM) in 2021, I was impressed and motivated by the members of A2WiM. I was delighted to join the committee last year and help organise our periodic tea-time event and, more recently, the ADWiM 2023."
Herself: "I am also passionate about teaching and science communication. I like learning new languages and enjoy, amongst other things, singing and stargazing."
Her work for A²WiM: "After attending the first Austrian Day of Women in Mathematics (ADWiM) in 2021, I was impressed and motivated by the members of A2WiM. I was delighted to join the committee last year and help organise our periodic tea-time event and, more recently, the ADWiM 2023."
Herself: "I am also passionate about teaching and science communication. I like learning new languages and enjoy, amongst other things, singing and stargazing."
About Diana
Her research: "Digital signal processing significantly impacts our daily lives, enabling countless everyday necessities, from phone calls and digital photography to medical imaging and environmental monitoring, to name just a few! None of this would be possible without the ever-growing development of analog-to-digital conversion technology. My research focuses on its mathematical point of view –the sampling theory– and aims to fill the theoretical gaps in different modern application areas of signal processing that have, so far, relied only on heuristic validation."
Her work for A²WiM: "In recent years, there have been many worldwide initiatives aimed to promote women in mathematics. However, I believe that there's still a lot of work to be done in raising awareness about the gender gap. Unconscious bias is still a very present mindset –even among women!– and as innocuous as it could sound, it ultimately affects the career paths of many women, regardless of their career stage. As a very recent member of A²WiM, I hope I can do my bit in constructing a future where the lack of female and non-binary role models is no longer a concern."
Herself: "I try to explore art as much as I can: illustrating, painting, writing, and practicing aerial sports, like trapeze and aerial silk, where I can also express myself through movement. Not too long before joining A²WiM, I created the Instagram account women.mathematicians, where I found the space to combine my love for drawing while spotlighting women working in mathematics. I'm looking forward to using this channel to collaborate with A²WiM!"
Her work for A²WiM: "In recent years, there have been many worldwide initiatives aimed to promote women in mathematics. However, I believe that there's still a lot of work to be done in raising awareness about the gender gap. Unconscious bias is still a very present mindset –even among women!– and as innocuous as it could sound, it ultimately affects the career paths of many women, regardless of their career stage. As a very recent member of A²WiM, I hope I can do my bit in constructing a future where the lack of female and non-binary role models is no longer a concern."
Herself: "I try to explore art as much as I can: illustrating, painting, writing, and practicing aerial sports, like trapeze and aerial silk, where I can also express myself through movement. Not too long before joining A²WiM, I created the Instagram account women.mathematicians, where I found the space to combine my love for drawing while spotlighting women working in mathematics. I'm looking forward to using this channel to collaborate with A²WiM!"
About Hanka
Her research: "Geometry is at least as old as the Ancient Greece, and it is fascinating that an object as simple as a triangle can keep thousands of mathematicians busy (and paid) millennia later. I enjoy investigating all kinds of triangles, in particular those in higher dimensions and peculiar spaces, such as Riemannian manifolds. Having finished my PhD in discrete differential geometry, I since moved on to computational geometry and topological data analysis."
Her work for A²WiM: "I greatly value the importance of research networks for under-represented groups. Discussing issues in the friendly and inviting environment these networks create has helped me overcome many challenges in my career. When I heard of such a network being formed in Austria, I joined immediately, and have been at the heart of A2WiM ever since."
Herself: "Apart from trying to impact the world of mathematics and its many faces, I also enjoy doing sports — in particular volleyball and hiking — and recently taking care of my little baby."
Her work for A²WiM: "I greatly value the importance of research networks for under-represented groups. Discussing issues in the friendly and inviting environment these networks create has helped me overcome many challenges in my career. When I heard of such a network being formed in Austria, I joined immediately, and have been at the heart of A2WiM ever since."
Herself: "Apart from trying to impact the world of mathematics and its many faces, I also enjoy doing sports — in particular volleyball and hiking — and recently taking care of my little baby."
About Eranda
Her research: "My main area of research is combinatorial optimisation. I am particularly interested in the identification and characterisation of combinatorial properties of the input which make a generally hard problem tractable. I am also interested in algorithmic graph theory and in particular optimisation problems in finance arising for example in portfolio selection. "
Her work for A²WiM: "I am happy to be a founding member of A2WiM and I am honored to be part of our active and dedicated committee. I am delighted to observe the contingent of female mathematicians increasing over the years and I do believe that the increase can go on and extend to all career levels. As a member of A2WiM I see the possibility to join efforts with like-minded persons and make a hopefully noticeable contribution."
Herself: "I like reading good books and listening to selected podcasts while cooking :-). I love doing sports, in particular skiing, running, swimming and hiking. If I had some spare time, I would study art history."
Her work for A²WiM: "I am happy to be a founding member of A2WiM and I am honored to be part of our active and dedicated committee. I am delighted to observe the contingent of female mathematicians increasing over the years and I do believe that the increase can go on and extend to all career levels. As a member of A2WiM I see the possibility to join efforts with like-minded persons and make a hopefully noticeable contribution."
Herself: "I like reading good books and listening to selected podcasts while cooking :-). I love doing sports, in particular skiing, running, swimming and hiking. If I had some spare time, I would study art history."
About Alexandra
Her research: "If you think group theory is too abstract and intangible, let me introduce you to Coxeter groups! For instance, they describe certain regular tessellations of the plane – a phenomenon that fascinates people to this day – and their presentation can be given visually by a simple finite graph. In my PhD project, I work on describing the geometric properties of certain Coxeter groups visually – completely in terms of their graphs."
Her work for A²WiM: "I find it deeply upsetting to witness injustice, especially when it is caused by a structural imbalance. That’s why I decided to take action and join A²WiM to fight for gender equity. I aim to empower all under-represented groups by increasing their visibility, for instance with our Wikipedia project, and to support them by co-organizing all kinds of events."
Herself: "In the early stages of my career, before turning my professional focus to Mathematics, I worked as a sports journalist at a daily newspaper. I am still engaged in sports and passionate about following any type of sports competition. Besides that, I love to spend time on handicraft and DIY projects."
Her work for A²WiM: "I find it deeply upsetting to witness injustice, especially when it is caused by a structural imbalance. That’s why I decided to take action and join A²WiM to fight for gender equity. I aim to empower all under-represented groups by increasing their visibility, for instance with our Wikipedia project, and to support them by co-organizing all kinds of events."
Herself: "In the early stages of my career, before turning my professional focus to Mathematics, I worked as a sports journalist at a daily newspaper. I am still engaged in sports and passionate about following any type of sports competition. Besides that, I love to spend time on handicraft and DIY projects."
About Bochra
Her research: "Did you know that the delineation of biomechanical properties of human soft tissues - which is an indicative parameter for medical diagnosis - can be described as the mathematical solution to an inverse elasticity problem? I am working on elastic diffraction tomography as a postdoctoral researcher at the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OEAW, RICAM). Before, I worked at the University of Côte d’Azur (UCA, LJAD) on the determination of elastic properties around seismic faults integrating defaults."
Her work for A²WiM: "I discovered A2WiM in 2022 when I was invited to chair a session during the second Austrian Women's Day in Mathematics (ADWiM 2022). I was impressed by the topics addressed at the event and the activities organised by A2WiM members. It's an honour to be a member of the association and to help organise a tea-time meeting."
Herself: "I enjoy travelling, exploring new cultures and learning new languages ."
Her work for A²WiM: "I discovered A2WiM in 2022 when I was invited to chair a session during the second Austrian Women's Day in Mathematics (ADWiM 2022). I was impressed by the topics addressed at the event and the activities organised by A2WiM members. It's an honour to be a member of the association and to help organise a tea-time meeting."
Herself: "I enjoy travelling, exploring new cultures and learning new languages ."
About Anastasia
Her research: "What can be better than homeomorphisms?" I thought in the first year of my studies and, oh, how wrong I was! They may be so wild — for example, there exist Sobolev homeomorphisms that are "producing" or "neglecting" material. My research now focuses on studying functional classes with specific geometrical and analytical properties, such as injectivity, differentiability, and Lusin's properties, while also being suitable for mathematical modelling."
Her work for A²WiM: "If you, like me, believe that a supportive environment is essential for success and well-being in academia, join A2WiM's Mentoring (that I am responsible for by the way) and Tea-Times Programs. And don't forget to mark your calendar for our Annual Conference! Follow us on social media not to miss other exciting events we are organizing ;)"
Herself: "I've heard that Austria is a sparsely populated area. Well, check out Yakutia — the place I grew up in."
Her work for A²WiM: "If you, like me, believe that a supportive environment is essential for success and well-being in academia, join A2WiM's Mentoring (that I am responsible for by the way) and Tea-Times Programs. And don't forget to mark your calendar for our Annual Conference! Follow us on social media not to miss other exciting events we are organizing ;)"
Herself: "I've heard that Austria is a sparsely populated area. Well, check out Yakutia — the place I grew up in."
About Sandra
Her research: "I work on the boundary of mathematics and analyse statements that can neither be proven nor disproven in the standard setting for mathematics. Such statements involve the existence of very large numbers or winning strategies in infinite two player games."
Her work for A²WiM: "When I started studying mathematics I believed that gender does not make a difference, especially in an area like mathematics. Over the years it became more and more clear to me that women are still facing different difficulties than men when pursuing an academic career in math. This is why I am fully supporting the activities of the A2WiM and recently joined its steering committee."
Herself: "I am worldwide the only women in my research area and have been the only female speaker at numerous conferences. My dream is to one day stand in front of the blackboard in my office and develop groundbreaking results in my area with a female colleague."
Her work for A²WiM: "When I started studying mathematics I believed that gender does not make a difference, especially in an area like mathematics. Over the years it became more and more clear to me that women are still facing different difficulties than men when pursuing an academic career in math. This is why I am fully supporting the activities of the A2WiM and recently joined its steering committee."
Herself: "I am worldwide the only women in my research area and have been the only female speaker at numerous conferences. My dream is to one day stand in front of the blackboard in my office and develop groundbreaking results in my area with a female colleague."
About Corinna
Her research: "Since I started my PhD roughly two years ago I have been investigating precipitation patterns in Austria's weather data through a spatio-temporal modelling approach. Analysing environmental data sets is of tremendous interest and with increasing computational capacities we can infer the precipitation process at unobserved locations and look at time series of more than 30 years. My goal is to raise awareness of a changing climate with the help of mathematics and computational statistics."
Her work for A²WiM: "During my bachelor and master studies I was already working for the program "Frauen in die Technik", which encourages young girls to take up natural or technical studies and dive into the fascinating world of science. I often heard that it would be important to overcome the lack of role models in these fields. Therefore, it was a great chance for me to join A2WiM and help to create a network which gives more visibility to female mathematicians of all (academic) levels."
Herself: "In my free time I enjoy going to the gym or for a hike. Otherwise, I am a very social person and spend a lot of time with family and friends."
Her work for A²WiM: "During my bachelor and master studies I was already working for the program "Frauen in die Technik", which encourages young girls to take up natural or technical studies and dive into the fascinating world of science. I often heard that it would be important to overcome the lack of role models in these fields. Therefore, it was a great chance for me to join A2WiM and help to create a network which gives more visibility to female mathematicians of all (academic) levels."
Herself: "In my free time I enjoy going to the gym or for a hike. Otherwise, I am a very social person and spend a lot of time with family and friends."
About Matteo
His research: "My area of work is differential geometry, where I am particularly interested in problems involving curves and surfaces in Euclidean space, as well as more general submanifolds. Most of my work deals with so-called developable surfaces, i.e., surfaces that can be flattened to a plane without any streching or compressing. I find this topic exciting because, although being classical, it remains of great interest in applications (for example, in architecture)."
His work for A²WiM: "My role in the association primarily consists in providing IT support. I joined the association in order to give a contribution to promoting equal opportunities for all groups that are under-represented in the mathematical community. Generally speaking, I believe that in academia there should be more awareness of diversity, in all its forms."
Himself: "Besides mathematics, I really enjoy hiking, reading about international politics, and listening to music."
His work for A²WiM: "My role in the association primarily consists in providing IT support. I joined the association in order to give a contribution to promoting equal opportunities for all groups that are under-represented in the mathematical community. Generally speaking, I believe that in academia there should be more awareness of diversity, in all its forms."
Himself: "Besides mathematics, I really enjoy hiking, reading about international politics, and listening to music."
About Elena
Her research: "During my PhD studies, I worked with fixed point methods for convex feasibility problems. Then I got more and more interested in continuous optimization and in regularization of ill-posed problems, particularly in variational approaches for image restoration and sparse solution reconstruction. I have to say that it is a privilege to collaborate with international colleagues of different backgrounds, and to learn about new mathematical problems and new approaches."
Her work for A²WiM: "Currently, I am the president of A2WiM. Moreover, Sylvia Frühwirth-Schnatter (Vienna University of Economics and Business) and myself interview prominent women mathematicians from Austria, the results being published in the International Mathematical News of the Austrian Mathematical Society. I have been lucky to have enthusiastic and very active colleagues within A2WiM. All in all, it is great that women mathematicians in Austria can get together and exchange experiences regardless of their career level."
Herself: "I love hiking, learning languages and, in general, discussing with people."
Her work for A²WiM: "Currently, I am the president of A2WiM. Moreover, Sylvia Frühwirth-Schnatter (Vienna University of Economics and Business) and myself interview prominent women mathematicians from Austria, the results being published in the International Mathematical News of the Austrian Mathematical Society. I have been lucky to have enthusiastic and very active colleagues within A2WiM. All in all, it is great that women mathematicians in Austria can get together and exchange experiences regardless of their career level."
Herself: "I love hiking, learning languages and, in general, discussing with people."
About Chiara
Her research: "The problem of finding synthetic notions of curvature bounds for singular spaces has been a central object of investigation for many years. My research is precisely focused on the study of analytic and geometric properties of metric measure spaces with a lower bound on the Ricci curvature. I think that this field of research is very interesting because, despite being quite abstract, it has many much more concrete motivations coming from the calculus of variations, metric geometry and probability theory."
Her work for A²WiM: "I am in charge of posting and keeping updated the facebook page of our association. I am very glad and honoured to be part of this group. I strongly believe that networking is of great importance, especially for the motivational support offered to scientists in the early-career stage."
Herself: "I love spending my free time with my family and friends, chatting and playing board games. But when no one is around, I also like listening to music and swimming a lot. Ah, Vienna is a beautiful city, it just lacks the sea to be perfect! "
Her work for A²WiM: "I am in charge of posting and keeping updated the facebook page of our association. I am very glad and honoured to be part of this group. I strongly believe that networking is of great importance, especially for the motivational support offered to scientists in the early-career stage."
Herself: "I love spending my free time with my family and friends, chatting and playing board games. But when no one is around, I also like listening to music and swimming a lot. Ah, Vienna is a beautiful city, it just lacks the sea to be perfect! "
About Leah
Her research: "Although the porous medium equation and more general nonlinear partial differential equations based on it have been studied for more than 70 years, there are still many interesting open questions. My research is focused on existence and regularity theory, which means that I investigate the following questions: Under which conditions on initial and boundary values do solutions exist and are they more regular than required by definition?"
Her work for A²WiM: "I joined A2WiM to become a part of this supportive network and to help increase the visibility of women mathematicians. Together with Corinna Perchtold I am responsible for our series of short interviews called „Spotlight“, where we adress hot topics. Further, I send our newsletter to which you can subscribe on our website."
Herself: "In my free time, I enjoy meeting friends and cooking. Last year, I started learning Italian."
Her work for A²WiM: "I joined A2WiM to become a part of this supportive network and to help increase the visibility of women mathematicians. Together with Corinna Perchtold I am responsible for our series of short interviews called „Spotlight“, where we adress hot topics. Further, I send our newsletter to which you can subscribe on our website."
Herself: "In my free time, I enjoy meeting friends and cooking. Last year, I started learning Italian."
About Mechthild
Her research: "My field is numerical mathematics. In particular, I develop novel approaches for the efficient time integration of nonlinear evolution equations. My efforts aim at finding a bridge between relevant applications, e.g. in quantum physics, mathematical models, numerical methods, and practical implementations."
Her work for A²WiM: "Being the first woman with a habilitation in mathematics at the University of Innsbruck, I find it important to support younger female mathematicians. Besides, it is a delight to be part of the dedicated A2WiM team."
Herself: "I love to be part of inspiring surroundings. Experiencing the fruitful scientific collaboration with my Spanish colleagues over several years enriches my life. It makes me happy when we put our thoughts together like the pieces of a puzzle and then see the mathematical picture arising."
Her work for A²WiM: "Being the first woman with a habilitation in mathematics at the University of Innsbruck, I find it important to support younger female mathematicians. Besides, it is a delight to be part of the dedicated A2WiM team."
Herself: "I love to be part of inspiring surroundings. Experiencing the fruitful scientific collaboration with my Spanish colleagues over several years enriches my life. It makes me happy when we put our thoughts together like the pieces of a puzzle and then see the mathematical picture arising."
Former members
Former members
Anna Breger, Anupam Gumber, Lea Bossmann, Amira Meddah, Veronika Pillwein, Teresa Heiss
We endorse the EWM Open letter on the COVID-19 pandemic.
We extend gratitude to Eva-Maria Hainzl and Elizabeth Stephenson for the design of our logo!
