program Description

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 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 whose achievements demonstrate significant potential for further contributions to mathematics. 

The fellowship will be directed toward those for whom the award will make a real difference in the development of their research career. 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.

Fellowship Amount:

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.

Eligibility:

Applications will be accepted from mathematicians currently holding a tenured, tenure-track, postdoctoral, or comparable (at the discretion of the selection committee) position at a U.S. institution.

Required Materials:

• 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. The plan should be no more than one page.
  
• Key Professional Accomplishments: a list of up ten publications and/or other professional activities that demonstrate the applicant's contributions to the mathematics profession. This list should be no more than one page. 
  
• NSF-style summary of current and pending support: to create an NSF Current and Pending Support document, visit https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sciencv, log into your NSF account, follow the prompts in the walk-through form, select "Create new document," choose the "NSF Current and Pending (Other) Support" format, and download the PDF.
• NSF-style biographical sketch: to create the NSF-style biographical sketch, visit https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sciencv, log into your NSF account, follow the prompts in the walk-through form, select "Create new document," choose the "NSF Biographical Sketch" format, and download the PDF.
• 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.

THE DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS IS 11:59 P.M. EASTERN TIME ON SEPTEMBER 30, 2024. Reference letters will be accepted until October 4, 2024.