2016 Field of Dreams Conference Review
Date: November 4-6, 2016
Location: Renaissance Airport Hotel, St. Louis
Agenda: 2016 Field of Dreams Agenda
Conference Presentations:
Review:
We are pleased to report another successful Field of Dreams Conference! This year’s conference was held at the Renaissance Airport Hotel, in St. Louis, Missouri. Over 350 participants, including 198 undergraduate students, 30 PhD students, 115 faculty, and many other representatives, were in attendance from over 113 universities, colleges, and organizations nationwide. A special mention to our Alliance Scholars who traveled all the way from Hawaii and Puerto Rico!
Friday afternoon kicked off with an interactive workshop on maximizing opportunities at a conference. This workshop highlighted the importance of preparation, prioritization and networking during a conference to make sure you receive the greatest experience possible. Faculty from four of the Math Sciences Institutes followed with informational presentations on their specific research area. Friday also included panels concerning summer research experiences and the Fields of Success panel, where past Alliance students tell about their experiences and their current faculty positions. Friday events closed with an REU and Employment Opportunities Fair.
We were excited to have Dr. Roger Peng, from John Hopkins University, to give the Math Science Talk Saturday morning entitled “Data Science: The Good, the Bad, and the Future”. There was something for everyone on Saturday with panels ranging from “How to Succeed in a Doctoral Program” and “Academic and Government Careers” for Alliance Scholars and panels discussing mentoring experiences, tips, and lessons for Alliance Mentors. Saturday afternoon there was a huge exhibitors fair with over 60 programs and institutions present. We were honored to have Dr. William Velez of the University of Arizona, as our keynote speaker with a presentation titled “Number Theory, Algebra, and Analysis”. There was a surprise recognition ceremony for Billie Townsend, who retired this year. Thank you Billie for all you have done for the Alliance!
We would like to thank everyone who helped prior and during the conference, and all our sponsors and panelist for making this conference our best one yet! Check out our Flickr site for photos from the 2016 Field of Dreams Conference. If you’d like to share your stories or photos from the conference send them to mathalliance@purdue.edu. Make sure to complete the Field of Dreams Feedback Survey if you haven’t already. Check out our Flickr site for plenty of photos from the 2016 Field of Dreams Conference.
We love to hear everyone’s comments on the event and suggestions for future Field of Dreams Conferences!