*Concerns of Young Mathematicians* Volume 1 Issue 14 October 6, 1993 An electronically distributed digest for discussions of the issues of concern to mathematicians at the beginning of their careers. PLEASE FORWARD TO ANY POTENTIALLY INTERESTED INDIVIDUALS Please, direct submissions and questions to Curtis Bennett cbennet@andy.bgsu.edu , editor for the month of October. Next issue: Wednesday, October 13 Editor for October: Curtis Bennett cbennet@andy.bgsu.edu Editor for November: Steve Kennedy kennedy@math.stolaf.edu To subscribe: Send mail to Charles Yeomans at cyeomans@s.ms.uky.edu Back issues and other information are available via anonymous FTP to ftp.ms.uky.edu, in pub3/mailing.lists/ymn-list. Editor for the month of August was Kalin Godev (kalin@math.psu.edu). Editor for the month of September was Ed Aboufadel (aboufade@scus1.ctstateu.edu). Publication will be weekly for now, and increase when appropriate. Table of Contents Item # Title ------ ----- 1 Editor's notes 2 News and notes 3 Mark Winstead: AWM, Job advertisements, e-math 4 Nathan Zook: No means---no? 5 Jerry Goldstein AMS Elections 6 Curtis Bennett: A note on job advertisements. 7 Evelyn Hart: A Response to Paul Ehrlich 8 WORKSHOP FOR WOMEN GRADUATE STUDENTS AND POSTDOCS - announcement 9 The Chalk Talk Room a) Anonymous Question b) Pat Knupp c) Tommy Ratliff d) Renee Koplon 10 Closing Credits _______________________________________________________________ Item #1 Editor's notes: As I begin my time as editor of the month, I have a few basic comments about myself. I have been on the job market three of the last four years. Last year I finally found a tenure track position at Bowling Green State University. It was getting this job that made it possible for me to take the time out to help get the YMN going. My main goal for this organization when we started was to create a resource for information concerning the job market, grant opportunities, tenure requirements, etc. With the solicited submissions and the creation of grant proposal files (see item #2) we are beginning to fulfill these goals. Others have different goals for the YMN, and that is good. One of the problems of a group like the YMN is diversity of viewpoint. We all have different ideas about what we want the organization to do. As a result, I ask that we not criticize others for working on something we consider irrelevant or a waste of time. Remember, while we have 400+ subscribers, we also have 400+ viewpoints. This week I have included an announcement of the AWM workshop for women graduate students and postdocs to be held at Cincinnati. I have done so since the workshop includes funding for attending the Cincinnati conference, but in general, we will not accept announcements of workshops and/or conferences. Curtis Bennett Bowling Green State University cbennet@andy.bgsu.edu _______________________________________________________________ Item #2 News and Notes We now have a file with the LaTeX files of 3 successful NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship Grant proposals. It is available by anonymous ftp at ftp.ms.uky.edu, in pub3/mailing.lists/ymn-list. The file is compressed, so be sure to have your ftp set for binary. I will still be adding proposals to the list when they are sent in, so if anybody has such a proposal, please send it to me (cbennet@andy.bgsu.edu). As the next step, I would like to compile a file with successful NSF grant proposals. IF there are any members out there who have won NSF grants and don't mind making their files available by anonymous ftp, please let me know (cbennet@andy.bgsu.edu). Submitting files with your name erased is fine. Another idea that the editors are batting around the email waves is creating a research connection service. This was probably best described as a "singles' network for research." The idea would be to have some way for people at small (or even large) universities to get in contact with others who are interested in similar problems. The first question that arises is: Is there interest in such a service? Let us know. The second question is: What form should it take? We have discussed having an 1) an ftp-able service, 2) a "print-shop" with hard-copy monthly mailings, 3) a section of Concerns devoted to it, 4) a separate issue of Concerns, or 5) submitting a proposal to the AMS to establish something like this on e-math. What are the thoughts out there? Email your opinions to me, and I will summarize. If you want to make an opinion part of a submission, please note this on the subject line. _______________________________________________________________ Item #3 Mark Winstead: AWM, Job advertisements, e-math In response to the listing of places where job advertisements occur that I posted last week, I received a note pointing out that the job listings in the Association for Women in Mathematics newsletter is NOT a proper subset of the e-math listings. The note's author went on to say that some of the listings were ones she had not seen elsewhere. In a separate note relating to other matters, I found out that the e-mail address for the headquarters of the AWM is awm@math.umd.edu. Also, a lot of you wrote about accessing e-math. Consult either *Notices* or *EIMS* or go to your computer room when it is crowded and ask around. If that fails, here is my attempt to describe it to you telnet e-math.ams.org login and password are e-math when you get to the menu, look under professional opportunities Mark Winstead winstead@ml.kva.se _______________________________________________________________ Item #4 Nathan Zook: No means---no? I'm afraid that the analogy used between being rejected for a date and being rejected for a job breaks down considerably. It is not at all uncommon for businesses to inform their second- and third- round interviewees of the reasons for their denials. Publishers inform their better rejects as well. I believe that there is good reason for businesses and publishers to do this, and I believe that the reason carries over to colleges, as well. The reason is that the rejection may very well NOT be the final dealings between the parties involved. If Miss Interesting isn't Interested, you probably won't ever have to deal with her again, on those terms (if you're smart). On the other hand, a writer will submit their next book to SOMEONE, an interviewee may change companies, AND, a PhD may change universities. Today's "not good enough" may be tomorrow's "if only we could get". A department that gives a good rejection letter can leave a GOOD taste in the mouth of the rejectee, and so leave the door open to later good relations. Nathan Zook nzook@math.utexas.edu _______________________________________________________________ Item #5 Jerry Goldstein - AMS Elections This is a response to item #5 [Vol 1, Issue 13 - ed.], which I just finished reading. Until recently, the AMS Nominating Committee (NC) presented one candidate for the AMS presidency to the membership. Then it was decided to present two candidates in a contested election. The first such election was (alpha- betically) Graham vs Smale; the second is the current Bass vs Morawetz election. This current election is also the second one in which nominating statements were solicited and published. The NC would welcome specific suggestions from Susan Williams and others about the nature of the nominating process, the nature of the nomination statement, and so on. Jerry Goldstein, LSU (current chair of the AMS NC) goldstei@marais.math.lsu.edu _______________________________________________________________ Item #6 Curtis Bennett: A note on job advertisements. I agree with Kalen Godev (YMN Vol.1 (13)) that job ads can be improved. I will also say that much of the problem is in departments not knowing what money they will have available, and which power faction will gain control. Herein, I submit what I think is a dictionary of what some phrases in many job ads mean. _______ Several Positions: We are asking the dean for 3 positions, but the dean will only give us 1-3 positions. Unfortunately, we won't know how many until around February. _______ Preference will be given to candidates whose research interests are similar to those in the department: Look at our faculty list in the Combined Membership list. If you don't see anyone that you or your advisor think would be interested in you, don't apply. If you do, mention their name in your cover letter. [Note: For research universities, the above is never a bad idea. It is unusual (not to say it doesn't happen) for people to get a job at a such a place without a faculty member pushing for them.] _______ We are looking for someone in [field xxxxx], but excellent candidates in any field will be considered: 1) If you have a good publication record with very good letters, you might be considered if you are not in the given field. 2) We are leaving ourselves an out if we discover someone we can't pass up in another field. [Note: This is a very slippery one. From those I have talked to at other universities, they only want the very best applicants that aren't in the given field, but they are willing to read through the hundreds of other applications like this they receive. My personal feeling is that if you are a new PhD not in the given field, you only qualify if your advisor tells you to apply to this university.] _______ All of what I say only applies to research universities and is my own opinion. The opinion is the result of conversations with faculty at a variety of research institutions. Curtis Bennett cbennet@andy.bgsu.edu ______________________________________________________________ Item #7 Evelyn Hart: A Response to Paul Ehrlich In response to Paul Ehrlich, who is resigned to people not understanding that professors do more than teach: I am still trying to educate people who tell me that it must be nice having the summers off. When I have the energy, I say that I work in the summers (I tell them that I go from 50-60 hrs/wk during the semester [that get's them!] to 30-40 hrs/wk in the summer). I tell them that even though I'm not paid to, I have to work in the summer doing all the things that I'm expected to do but don't have time for during the school year. I do this with a smile, also saying that it's great to have ultimate flex time in the summer. I think I do make an impression by saying these things. For those who really want to know what research in mathematics is like, it's good to have a copy of the wonderful booklet What's Happening in the Mathematical Sciences handy. It's from the AMS, has a beautiful cover (which makes a difference!) and describes projects in pure and applied mathematics. It has pictures of the people involved, and is at least mostly accessible to the educated layperson. Evelyn Hart hart@math.hope.edu (The views expressed are my own and do not necessarily represent those of Hope College.) ______________________________________________________________ Item #8 WORKSHOP FOR WOMEN GRADUATE STUDENTS AND POSTDOCS **********announcement ************************** WORKSHOP FOR WOMEN GRADUATE STUDENTS AND POSTDOCS Over the past four years, the Association for Women in Mathematics, with funding from the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research, has held a series of workshops for women graduate students and postdocs in conjunction with major mathematics meetings. The next workshop in the series is scheduled to be held on Tuesday January 11, immediately preceding the Annual Joint Mathematics Meetings in Cincinnati, Ohio. AWM will offer funding for travel and subsistence for up to ten women graduate students and ten women postdocs to participate in the workshop. Participants will have the opportunity to present and discuss their research and to meet with other women mathematicians at all stages of their careers. The workshop will also include a panel discussion on issues of career development, a luncheon, and a dinner banquet. All mathematicians (female and male) are invited to attend the entire program even though only twenty women will be funded. Departments are urged to help graduate students and postdocs obtain some institutional support to attend the workshop and the meetings which follow. To be eligible for funding, graduate students must have begun work on a thesis problem; postdocs must have received their PhD within approximately the last five years. All applications should include a curriculum vitae and a concise description of research; graduate students should include a letter of recommendation from their thesis advisor. Nominations by other mathematicians (accompanied by the information described above) are also welcome. Please send five copies of the application materials to the address below. APPLICATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY OCTOBER 14, 1993. Virginia Reinhart, Executive Director Association for Women in Mathematics 4114 Computer & Space Sciences Building University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742-2461 For more information contact the AWM office. 301-404-7892 / awm@math.umd.edu [ Editor's Note: We will not in general accept conference/workshop announcements as there are more appropriate places to post them. However, since the AWM is providing money for travel to Cincinatti, which hosts the employment register, I felt this announcement merited an exception to the rules. ] ______________________________________________________________ Item #9 The Chalk Talk Room Item #9a An anonymous question: I will be (hopefully) getting a Ph.D. in Mathematics in 1994. I am older than standard graduate student age, but this fact is not apparent either from my appearance or my vita. I notice, however, that our university puts the date of birth on the transcripts. My question is: Do potential employers typically read these things? And will this information damage my chances of getting a job? _______________________________________________________________ Item #9b Pat Knupp asks: As is well known, math Ph.D.'s are having a hard time finding entry-level openings for academic positions. A math friend of mine once told me that a math friend of his was employed by the engineering department (at some university), teaching math-oriented engineering classes. Has anyone heard similar stories, and, how would one find out about such positions if they exist? _______________________________________________________________ Item #9c Tommy Ratliff asks: My wife (Janice Sklensky) and I are both mathematicians, and we're both on the market this year after having been visitors at Kenyon College (in Gambier, OH) for the last two years. I have a couple of questions for anyone who's tried to solve the two-body problem. 1. Do you let a potential employer know that your significant other is also a mathematician? I've heard of situations where a specific employer may be more interested if they know there is another potential employee in the wings, but I've also heard of instances where having a S.O. in the same field is a death sentence to any application. 2. Are there many schools that will hire a couple to split a tenure track position? This isn't an unheard-of situation since there are at least four couples at Kenyon that are splitting 1 or 1.5 tenure track positions. Is there any other place that does this? We've decided that we're not willing to live apart, so with the market the way that it is, we realize that we will have to make serious compromises. If anyone has any experience (good or bad), I'm really interested to hear about it. Tommy Ratliff ratlifft@kenyon.edu _______________________________________________________________ Item #9d Renee Koplon asks: I will be finishing my PhD and looking for a job this year and somebody that I know mentioned to me to keep my eyes out in the Chronicle of Higher Education and CACM for an advertisement for a job later in the year (if the money comes through for his department to hire somebody). Anyway, I was wondering if anybody knows what these publications are, and if the advertisements in them also appear in any electronic medium. Also, what kind of jobs are usually advertised there? _______________________________________________________________ Item #10 Closing Credits The Young Mathematicians' Network is administered by: Charles Yeomans cyeomans@s.ms.uky.edu Mark Winstead winstead@ml.kva.se Kalin Godev kalin@math.psu.edu Neil Calkin calkin@math.gatech.edu Curtis Bennett cbennet@andy.bgsu.edu Jeff Adams adams@bright.uoregon.edu Edward Aboufadel aboufade@scus1.ctstateu.edu _______________________________________________________________ End of Journal -- Next week: The Discussion Continues