The NSF-CBMS Regional Research Conference series was created to facilitate the spread of research in the mathematical sciences to new researchers and faculty without easy access to those working on the most exciting and important developments in the field. This program is open to all, but we particularly encourage applications from institutions that would not usually be the venue for such a conference, especially minority serving institutions and universities away from clusters of research universities. Recognizing that those who wish to request one of these grants may not have extensive experience in writing such proposals. CBMS offers its services to assist in the selection of a speaker and the preparation of the proposal. If you would like to discuss the submission of a proposal to this program, please contact Charles Steinhorn, steinhorn@vassar.edu. See also NSF Program Announcement and Program Solicitation 19-539.
To stimulate interest and activity in mathematical research, the National Science Foundation in- tends to support up to ten NSF-CBMS Regional Research Conferences in 2025. In the 55-year history of this NSF-CBMS Regional Research Conference Series, a total of 385 such conferences have been held. Three more are scheduled for summer 2024. Support is provided for about 30 participants at each conference. The conference organizer should invite both established researchers and interested newcomers, including postdoctoral fellows and graduate students, to attend. Addition information on the conferences can be found at https://www.cbmsweb.org/regional-conferences. This conference series was created to facilitate the spread of research in the mathematical sciences to new researchers and faculty without easy access to those working on the most exciting and important developments in the eld. This program is open to all, but we particularly encourage applications from institutions that would not usually be the venue for such a conference, especially minority serving institutions and universities away from clusters of research universities. Recognizing that those who wish to request one of these grants may not have extensive experience in writing such proposals. CBMS oers its services to assist in the selection of a speaker and the preparation of the proposal. If you would like to discuss the submission of a proposal to this program, please contact Charles Steinhorn, CBMS Director, at steinhorn@vassar.edu.
The continuing success and strength of this conference series over the past half century is due to the following features which differentiate these conferences from typical research conferences.
There can be from one to a maximum of three lecturers presenting the ten main lectures. Each lecturer is a major contributor to the subject area of the conference and has a broad perspective on that area. We particularly encourage proposals that feature a principal lecturer from an underrepresented group. CBMS is willing to help prospective applicants identify potential lecturers. The lectures pull together the major ideas and recent results and chart the possible future directions for the field. The purpose of this format is to ensure that the participants, especially the new or recent entrants to the field, gain a deeper understanding of the major outstanding problems and current directions of research in the field than they would get from the typical conference format where many people present talks on their own results. Recognizing that the most effective conferences allocate large chunks of time for new researchers to interact with others regarding questions and methods, conference organizers are encouraged to describe the facilitation of this networking, whether through problem sessions, hands-on experiences with software, small group Q&A discussions, or other means.
For both immediacy of dissemination and broad access to the information produced for the conference, the principal lecturer will be responsible for the following materials that will be posted on the CBMS website:
In addition, the conference organizers are encouraged to video-record the ten main lectures, to be posted on the CBMS website.
The monograph based on the lectures presents, to a much wider audience than the conference alone provides, a carefully prepared synthesis of and perspective on an active field of research organized by one of its leading contributors.
The purpose of the regional emphasis, with many of the participants drawn from areas geographically proximate to the host institution, is to provide a strong stimulus for increased local research activity and to assure that the contacts made during the conference will continue. Participants include not only established researchers but also newcomers to the field such as graduate students, postdocs, and faculty wishing to learn a new area.
For eligibility requirements and instructions for proposal preparation, go to the program announcement at https://nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=504930 or to Program Solicitation 15-539 at https://nsf.gov/pubs/2019/nsf19539/nsf19539.pdf. Inquiries concerning this conference series or the preparation of proposals for conferences should be directed to one of the NSF program officers on the program announcement page.